w. 


E?:t'^^-^-s5?: 


5\RWHER5  HAkk 


X 


ECHOES  FROM 


Caruthers  Hall. 


NINE  LECTURES  DELIVERED  BY  MEMBERS  OF 
CUMBERLAND  UNIVERSITY  FACULTY. 


WITH    A    SUPPLEMENT: 


*^THE   OLD   GUARD," 

By  CHANCELLOR  NATHAN  GREEN,  LL.D. 
{ILLUSTRATED.) 


NASHVILLE,  TENN.: 

CtTMBFRT.AKD   PrEPUVTERIAN    PrBLISHlNG  HOUSE. 

W.  J.  DAKBY,  D.D..  General  Manager. 
1889. 


J- 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1889,  by  the 

Board  of  Publication  of  the  Ccmbeki^nd  Peesbyterian  Church, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  ("ongress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


bTW-* 


^'      oc/s^c!il5^ 


PREFACE 


The  publication  of  this  volume  has  been  planned  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  before  the  public  the  best  thoughts  of 
the  honored  and  eminent  men  who  compose  the  Faculty  of* 
Cumberland  University.  Chancellor  Green,  who,  at  the  sug- 
gestion and  request  of  representatives  of  the  Board  of  Pub- 
lication, selected  these  lectures  and  obtained  permission  from 
their  several  authors  to  publish  them,  gives  the  following 
account  of  their  origin  : 

"  It  has  been  the  habit  of  the  members  of  the  Faculty  of 
Cumberland  University  to  deliver  lectures  occasionally  upon 
subjects  of  a  popular  scientific  or  literary  character,  and  in 
regard  to  other  matters  calculated  to  benefit  the  young  men 
of  our  day.  These  lectures  were  designed  primarily  for  the 
students,  but  as  they  were  delivered  of  evenings  in  Caruthers 
Hall,  the  college  chapel,  many  of  the  citizens  of  Lebanon 
have  attended  them,  kindly  saying  that  they  have  been  in- 
structed and  entertained. 

"At  the  suggestion  of  partial  friends,  a  few  of  these  lectures 
are  presented  to  the  public  with  the  hope  that  they  may  do 
good.  There  is  also  appended  a  very  brief  sketch  of  some 
of  the  noble  men  who  inaugurated  and  fostered  the  Univer- 
sity, and  who  ai%  now  asleep.  The  matter  contained  in  this 
volume  has  been  committed  to  the  representatives  of  the 
Board  of  Publication,  and  the}^  alone  are  responsible  for  its 
arrangement  and  the  order  in  which  the  lectures  appear." 

It  is  well  that  these  lectures  should  have  a  wider  audience 

(iii) 


iv  Preface. 

than  that  which  heard  them  when  they  were  first  delivered, 
and  well  that  the  people  should  have  an  opportunity  to  look 
in  upon  these  toilers  as  they  patiently  do  their  work  in  study 
and  lecture  hall.  No  class  of  workers  do  more  valuable  serv- 
ice, and  none  deserve  higher  appreciation.  To  cultivate  their 
acquaintance  is  to  come  nearer  the  centers  of  influence  where- 
by the  generations  are  uplifted  and  character  made  better. 

All  former  students  of  Cumberland  University  will  welcome 
'  this  volume  by  reason  of  the  precious  associations  of  other 
years,  and  also  for  the  merit  of  the  lectures  themselves.  The 
faces  of  "  The  Old  Guard  "  will  be  a  joy  and  an  inspiration  to 
those  who  have  sat  at  their  feet  and  learned  wisdom.  They 
were  indeed  giants  in  their  day,  and  by  their  fruits  they  are 
known  and  still  remembered.  Many  others  who  have  not 
attended  the  University,  but  have  known  the  authors  of 
these  lectures  or  the  characters  described  in  the  Supplement, 
will  welcome  a  volume  which  will  help  to  a  better  knowl- 
edgfe  of  them,  and  will  bring  the  unfoldiftgs  of  truth  on  the 
several  topics  discussed.  The  general  reader  will  also  accept 
this  volume  as  a  meritorious  contribution  to  the  literature 
of  the  day,  and  will  give  due  honor  to  the  source  which 
has  produced  it. 

The  Board  of  Publication  is  glad  to  serve  as  the  channel 
through  which  the  public  may  receive  these  scholarly  pro- 
ductions whose  influence  might  otherwise  have  been  limited 
to  the  narrow  circle  that  heard  them  from  the  platform.  We, 
its  representatives,  have  experienced  peculiar  pleasure  in 
bringing  this  volume  through  the  press,  and  trust  that  mul- 
titudes of  readers  will  be  equally  delighted  as  these  reverber- 
ations from  Caruthers  Hall  shall  reach  them  through  these 
printed  pages.  W.  J.  DARBY,  General  Manager. 

J.  M.  HOWARD,  Book  Editor. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Government, i 

By  NATHA^'  Geeen,  LL.D.,  Chaucellor  aud  Professor  of  Law. 

What  Is  It? 26 

By  S.  G.  Burxey.  D.D.,  LL.D..  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology. 

Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans 35 

By  W.  D.  McL.iUGHLiN,  A.m.,  Professor  of  Latin  and  Greek. 

Some  Types  of  Civilization, 49 

By  R.  V.  Foster,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Hebrew  aud  New  Testament  Greek. 

What  Is  Over  Our  Heads? 66 

By  a.  H.  Buchanan,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Civil  Engineering. 

lGNORANTl.\   LEGIS   NEMINEM   ExCUSAT,        .  .  .  HO 

.    By  Andrew  B.  Martin,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Law. 

Laughing  and  Crying, 134 

By  J.  I.  D.  Hinds,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Chemistry. 

Superstition, 160 

By  J.  D.  KiRKPATRicK,  D.D.,  Mimlock  Professor  of  Church  History. 

Our  English  Ancestors, 185 

By  E.  E.  Weir,  A.M..  Professor  of   Belles-Lettres   and  Mental  and  Moral 
Science. 

THE  OLD  GUARD. 

By  Chancellor  Nathan  Grekn,  LL.D. 

Robert  Looney  Caruthers,  LL.D. 201 

Franceway  Rann.\  Cossitt,  D.D.,  ....  204 

Thomas  C.  Anderson,  D.D., 206 

Benj,\min  W.  McDonnold,  D.D.,  LL.D.,         .        .        .  209 

Nath.\n  L.\wrence  Lindsley,  LL.D.,         .        .        .  212 

Abr.\ham  C.A.RUTHERS,  LL.D., 214 

Richard  Beard,  D.D., 217 

Nathan  Green,  LL.D. 220 

(V) 


aOVKRNIVCKNT. 


By  NATHAN  GREEN,  LL.D., 

Chancellor  and  Profc'ssor  of  Law. 

The  family  is  the  great  laboratory  of  society.  Here 
it  is  that  government  begins.     Let  us  begin  with  it. 

I  am  persuaded  that  too  little  is  said  and  written  of 
the  importance  of  this  Heaven-ordained  institution. 
I  say  Heaven-ordained,  for  no  one  can  doubt  that  this 
little  government  is  in  the  order  of  nature  directly, 
and  we  Christians  firmly  believe  that  the  almighty 
Father  of  our  race  organized  it. 

In  all  countries  and  among  all  peoples,  whether 
savage  or  civilized,  the  family  exists.  There  are  re- 
publics and  despotisms  and  mild  monarchies  to  gov- 
ern tribes  and  nations,  but  within  all  these  the  family 
government  prevails  unmolested.  Republics  become 
empires,  and  monarchies  are  overthrown  and  repub- 
lics established  in  their  stead;  but  amid  all  these 
changes  and  great  upheavals  the  family  remains  the 
same. 

Laws  are  passed  by  parliaments  and  legislatures  and 
decrees  issued  by  princes  to  control  and  direct  individ- 
uals, but  never  do  these  statutes  undertake  to  destroy 
the  family.  So  universal  is  its  immunity  from  inter- 
ference that  it  ma}'  be  said  to  exist  by  a  sort  o^  Jus 
gentium.  It  seems  as  though  the  great  Author  of 
men  and  worlds  had  laid  his  restraining  hand  on  prin- 

(i) 


2  -  Government. 

cipalities  and  parliaments,  saying:  "You  may  form 
what  governments  j^ou  like  for  nations,  but  touch  not 
the  family,  for  it  is  of  my  own  ordaining."  JVnd  this 
is  well,  because  the  families  are  the  constituent  ele- 
ments of  the  State  as  well  as  its  foundation. 

Seeing  the  wondexful  liberty  this  little  government 
enjoys,  we  shall  further  see  its  momentous  responsi- 
bility and  importance.  As  the  materials  in  the  edifice 
will  afford  strength  or  weakness  to  the  building,  so 
the  durability,  purity,  vfrtue,  and  value  of  all  society 
and  every  government  will  depend  upon  the  quality 
of  the  families  of  which  it  is  composed,  because  only 
from  families  come  individuals,  and  an  aggregation 
of  individuals  makes  society  and  governments.  Is  it 
not  true  then  that  the  family  is  the  great  laboratory? 

The  family  is  small.  It  is  within  one  curtilage*  Its 
members  are  under  one  roof.  The  laws  of  this  gov- 
ernment are  easily  promulgated,  and  they  may  be 
readily  repeated  and  as  often  as  necessit^^  may  require. 
The  association  of  the  members  is  constant  and  inti- 
mate. The  confidence  as  well  as  the  affection  is  such 
as  exists  nowhere  else  on  earth.  The  authority-  of  the 
parents  is  undisputed.  Their  jurisdiction  is  exclusive, 
and  from  their  judgments  there  is  no  appeal.  Of 
course  we  are  assuming  that  the  parents  violate  none 
of  the  criminal  laws  of  the  State. 

The  parents  have  this  extraordinarj'  advantage  and 
great  power  over  their  offspring  at  a  period  of  incal- 
culable importance.  And  I  hesitate  not  to  say  that 
their  highest  dutj^  before  God  and  the  world  is  the 
proper  care,  culture,  and  training  of  their  children. 
The  natural  and  undying  affection  which  is  implanted 
in  our  hearts  toward  our  little  ones  will  secure  them 
against  physical  want  and  suffering.     Alas!   for  the 


Government.         .  3 

children,  and  alas !  for  the  world,  many  parents  care 
tor  go  but  little  further.  The  brute  will  provide  for 
its  young.  Are  we  but  brutes?  We  act  no  better 
p^rt  if  we  look  only  to  the  food  and  clothing  and  bod- 
ily comfort  of  our  progeny. 

Every  parent  has  upon  him  the  responsibility  of 
the  intellectual  and  moral  welfare  of  his  children. 
By  as  much  as  the  immortal  mind  is  superior  to  the 
mortal  body,  by  so  much  is  the  duty  of  providing  for 
the  wants  of  the  one  greater  than  the  other.  How 
careful  is  the  mother  to  see  that  improper  food  shall 
not  be  given  to  her  child!  How  watchful  that  the 
little  one  taking  its  first  steps  shall  not  fall  into  the 
fire  or  down  the  stairway  !  How  she  will  labor  till 
late  in  the  night  to  provi;ie  suitable  and  comely  gar- 
ments !  How  she  will  wrap  it  with  woolens  and  furs, 
if  need  be,  to  protect  it  against  the  cold  winds !  All 
this  is  right.  But  still  more  care,  more  watchfulness, 
more  pains,  more  effort  should  be  bestowed  upon  the 
disposition,  temper,  mind,  and  soul  of  the  child.  It 
is  impossible  for  parents  to  escape  their  accountability 
in  this  regard.  Society,  government  among  men,  and 
God  himself  will  require  these  things  of  them.  If 
all  parents  would  always  use  even  the  same  energy 
and  care  to  produce  in  their  children  wholesome  mor- 
als that  they  do  to  build  up  healthy  bodies,  what 
a  vast  change  would  be  wrought  in  societ}'  even  in 
one  generation  ! 

So  much  depends  on  the  proper  attention  of  the 
parents  that  it  may  be  truthfully  asserted  that  at  their 
door  lies  the  sin,  to  a  great  extent,  of  the  drunkenness, 
fraud,  lying,  and  violence  with  which  the  country 
abounds.  As  a  rule,  the  child  becomes  the  man  that 
his  father  and  mother  make  him.     The  flour  which  we 


4  Government. 

make  into  bread  is  good  or  bad,  according  to  the  care 
and  diligence  of  the  miller  who  made  it.  If  he  failed 
in  any  part  of  his  duty  while  it  was  in  the  process  of 
making,  whether  that  failure  were  mere  neglect  or 
willfulness,  the  bread  is  injured,  or,  it  may  be,  ruined. 
So  with  every  other  manufactured  article.  As  the  • 
potter  can  give  any  shape  to  the  future  vessel  while 
the  clay  is  yet  soft,  so,  as  a  general  rule,  the  parent 
can  produce  any  kiiid  of  character  he  ma}'  choose, 
depending  on' the  manner  in  which  he  manipulates 
the  tender  material  in  its  formative  period.  Wherever 
we  may  open  our  eyes  we  see  abundant  evidences  of 
the  truth  of  this  proposition.  ♦  History  abounds  with 
instances  in  point. 

I  have  in  my  hands  a  book  on  "Character,"  by 
Samuel  Smiles,  from  which  I  desire  to  present  a  few 
extracts  pertinent  to  the  subject  I  have  undertaken. 
in  these  the  writer  states  the  special  influence  of  the 
mother. 

"While  homes,'-'  says  the  author,  "which  are  the 
nurseries  of  character,  may  be  the  best  schools,  they 
may  be  also  the  worst.  *>  Between  childhood  and  man- 
hood, how  incalculable  the  mischief  which  ignorance 
in  the  home  has  the  power  to  cause!  Between  the 
dra\ying  of  the  first  breath  and  the  last,  how  vast  is 
the  moral  suffering  and  disease  occasioned  by  incom- 
petent mothers  and  nurses!  Commit  a  child  to  the 
care  of  a  worthless,  ignorant  woman,  and  no  culture, 
in  after  life  will  remedy  the  evil  you  have  done.  Let 
the  mother  be  idle,  vicious,  and  a  slattern;  let  her 
home  be  pervaded  by  caviling,  petulance,  and  discon- 
tent, and  it  will  become  a  dwelling  of  miserj'^ — a  place 
to  fly  from  rather  than  to  fly  to;  and  the  children 
whose  misfortune  it  is  to  be  brought  up  there  will  be 


Government.  5 

morally  dwarfed  and  deformed — the  cause  of  misery 
to  themselves  and  to  others." 

Quoting  from  Joseph  de  Maistre,  the  same  author 
continues,  speaking  of  mothers,  "The}^  have  written 
.no  'Iliad,'  nor  'Jerusalem  Delivered,'  nor  Hamlet,' 
nor  '  Paradise  Lost ; '  they  have  designed  no  Church 
of  St.  Peter,  composed  no  '  Messiah,'  carved  no  'Apollo 
Belvidere,'  painted  no  'Last  Judgment;'  they  have 
inv^ented  neither  algebra  nor  telescopes  nor  steam- 
engines,  but  they  have  done  something  far  better  and 
greater  than  all  this,  for  it  i3  at  their  knees  that  upright 
and  virtuous  men  and  women  have  been  trained — the 
most  excellent  productions  in  the  world." 

That  is  beautifully  said,  and  is  a  deserving  tribute 
to  that  most  potent  factor  in  the  creation  of  character 
— the  mother.  The  influence  which  the  mother  of 
our  own  Washington  had  upon  him  is  well  known. 
He  was  left  without  a  father  at  the  age  of  eleven. years, 
and  on  that  noble  woman,  his  mother,  was  devolved 
the  duty  of  giving  tone  and  turn  to  the  great  charac- 
ter which  has  been  the  admiration  of  the  whole  world, 
and  will  be  as  long  as  histor}^  shall  be  read.  To  these 
same  ennobling  and  precious  hohie  influences  are  re- 
ferable the  characters  and  achievements  of  Xapoleon, 
Wellington,  John  Newton,  and  Cromwell.  The  same 
is  true  of  Lord  Chancellors  Bacon,  Erskine,  and 
Brougham,  and  of  Canning,  Curran,  and  President 
Adams — of  Paley  and  Wesley. 

John  Quincy  Adams  delivered  an  address  before  a 
Boston  audience  on  one  occasion,  in  which  he  said: 
"As  a  child  I  enjoyed  the  greatest  blessing  that  can 
be  bestowed  on  man — that  of  a  mother  who  was  anx- 
ious and  capable  to  forni  the  characters  of  her  chil- 
dren rightly.     From  her  I  derived  whatever  instruc- 


6  Government. 

tion  (religious,  especially,  and  moral)  has  pervaded  a 
long  life.  I  will  not  say  perfectly,  or  as  it  ought  to 
be;  but  I  will  say,  because  it  is  only  justice  to  the 
memory  of  her  I  revere,  that  in  the  course  of  that  life, 
whatever  imperfection  there  has  been,  or  deviation . 
from  what  she  taught  me,  the  fault  is  mine  and  not 
hers."  And  thus  I  might  proceed  to  fill  a  volume 
drawn  from  the  biographies  of  great  men,  all  going 
to  show  that  they  received  their  bent,  their  impulse 
upward,  in  the  early  years  of  life  and  in  the  sacred 
family  circle. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  true  that  the  men 
who  have  cursed  and  disgusted  society  and  disgraced 
the  image  of  God  have  received  their  bad  impressions, 
have  taken  the  first  steps  down  the  declivity,  directly 
under  the  home  roof.  It  would  be  cruel  to  say  that 
it  is,  ordinarily,  the  wish  of  any  parent  that  the  child 
of  love  should  become  a  bad  man  and  a  monster ;  such 
is  rarely  the  case.  The  great  evil  is  generally  the 
result  of  inattention,  failure,  neglect.  It  is  a  sin  of 
omission,  but  none  the  less  a  sin  on  that  account. 
Negligence  is  Often  a  crime.  The  negligence  of  the 
dispatcher  to  announce  to  the  trains  on  his  road  the 
proper  time  for  stopping  and  running  often  results  in 
the  most  terrible  destruction  of  life  and  property,  for 
which  he  is  accountable  criminally.  Our  failure  to 
pay  ovK  taxes  will  result  in  a  sale  of  our  property 
and,  it  nuy  be,  in  the  loss  of  a  home.  And  those 
who  merely  neglect  the  "great  salvation"  provided  in 
the  gospel  for  sinful  men  will  lose  a  home  of  infinitely 
more  importance ;  so  that  it  is  no  extenuation  of  the 
crime  to  say  t^at  it  is  a  mere  want  of  action,  a  mere 
negligence,  for  it  is  not  so  regarded  in  the  laws  of 
men  or  in  the  laws  of  God. 


Government.  7 

If  any  one  should  ask  me,  "  How  shall  I  make  a 
child  good,  so  that  he  may  become  a  good  man?"  I 
would  answer  by  saying.  First,  be  good  yourself.  This 
is  no  doubt  the  most  important  of  all  influences  in  the 
family — parental  example.  The  child  is  an  apprentice 
in  the  art  of  life.  He  will  learn,  and  learns  more  from 
example  than  he  does  from  precept.  His  trusting 
heart  and  credulous  mind  can  not  be  convinced  that 
any  thing  is  wrong  which  lie  sees  his  parents  do.  On 
the  contrary,  he  thinks  it  is  right.  Would  a  master 
workman,  training  his  apprentice,  give  him  for  imita- 
tion a  wretched,  faulty,  disjointed  pattern,  and  direct 
him,  by  looking  at  that,  to  produce  a  perfect  speci- 
men of  the  particular  art?  How  absurd!  He  would 
rather  supply  him  with  the  best,  even  a  perfect  pat- 
tern. Would  the  school-master,  teaching  his  pupil  to 
write,  give  him  an  awkward  scrawl  for  a  copy?  The 
learner  would  surely  imitate  it.  In  the  family,  the 
very  young  child  is  helpless  in  this  regard.  He  sees 
no  one  else,  scarcely,  and  is  shut  up  to  an  observation 
and  a  consequent  imitation  of  the  conduct  of  his  par- 
ents. How  careful,  how  circumspect,  should  parents 
be  at  all  times,  for  the  counterpart  of  their  words  and 
actions  will  be  as  inevitably  reproduced  in  the  lives 
of  their  children  as  are  the  physical  features  of  the 
one  stamped  upon  the  countenances  of  the  others. 

In  the  next  place,  I  would  say,  to  make  a  good  child, 
exercise  the  greatest  watchfulness  in  correcting  natu- 
ral evil  tendencies,  and  in  stimulating  the  little  one 
to  do  right  because  it  is  right.  A  great  statesman  has 
said,  "  The  price  of  liberty  is  eternal  vigilance."  Most 
emphatically  can  this  sentiment  be  applied  to  the  con- 
duct of  parents.  The  price  of  a  good  child  is  a  pure 
example,    self-denial,    suffering,    watchfulness  —  nay, 


8  Government. 

eternal  vigilance.  This  involves,  of  course,  a  humble 
trust  in  God  and  much  earnest  and  tearful  supplication. 

Now,  if  one  should  ask  me  how  to  make  a  child 
who  will  become,  when  grown,  a  pest  and  a  nuisance 
to  society,  I  would  answer.  First,  set  a  bad  example. 
He  will  follow  it.  If  j^ou  drink  whiskj',  so  will  he. 
If  you  swear,  he  will  also.  If  you  lie  and  cheat  and 
abuse  and  slander  the  neighbors,  your  child  will.  If 
the  parent  withdraws  from  all  that  is  good  and  associ- 
ates with  the  bad,  so  will  the  child. 

In  the  next  place,  to  secure  a  bad  child,  and  ulti- 
mately a  bad  citizen,  let  him  alone — I  say,  only  let 
him  alone.  Let  him  have  his  own  sweet  will  about 
every  thing.  Never  "cross"  him;  never  restrain 
him;  never  instruct  him  in  his  duty.  Let  him  go 
when,  where,  and  with  whom  he  may  choose.  When 
the  teacher  corrects  him,  denounce  the  teacher ;  when 
the  preacher  chides  him,  ridicule  the  preacher;  when 
the  neighbors  report  him,  abuse  the  neighbors.  If 
this  course  does  not  succeed  in  making  the  child  bad 
and  the  future  man  a  monster,  then  there  is  nothing 
in  human  observation  and  experience. 

Another  phase  of  my  subject  is  that  of  compulsory 
education.  Shall  the  State  compel  parents  to  send 
their  children  to  school  and  compel  children  to  attend? 
This  is  a  grave  suliject.  It  is  one  for  the  politician, 
or  rather  for  the  statesman ;  and  although  it  is  new  in 
this  country,  it  has  for  some  time  been  under  consid- 
eration in  Europe,  and  has  been  acted  upon  by  some 
of  the  more  advanced  continental  States.  In  Prussia, 
for  example,  education,  to  a  limited  extent,  is  abso- 
lutely required  by  the  State,  and  there  are  intimations 
that  such  will  be  soon  the  case  in  other  nations,  and 
in  some  of  the  States  of  our  own  country. 


GOVERNMEXT.  9 

Some  of  the  greatest  minds  in  America  have  already 
advocated  the  adoption  of  this  system  nvith  us,  and  it 
is  rapidly  gaining  friends.  Indeed,  the  arguments  put 
forth  to  sustain  the  principle  are  exceedingly  plausi- 
ble and  perhaps  can  not  be  refuted.  It  is  said  that 
ignorance,  being  the  mother  of  vice,  the  State  ought 
to  exert  its  power  in  dispelling  and  removing  this 
great  cause  of  evil,  and  this  applies  with  great  force 
in  a  country  like  ours,  where  the  right  of  suffrage  is 
universal  and  the  people  are  the  governing  power. 

It  is  argued  that  upon  the  virtue  and  intelligence 
of  our  people  depends  the  perpetuity  of  our  free  insti- 
tutions, and  that  the  State  should  spare  no  effort  to 
promote  those  qualities  among  the  masses  so  neces- 
sary to  the  existence  of  the  government. 

A  distinguished  writer  has  lately  said  he  did  not 
fear  the  ballot  if  it  should  come  through  the  school- 
house,  and  he  insists  that  the  State  has  as  good  a  right 
to  compel  the  children  who  are  to  make  the  men  who 
are  to  cast  the  ballots  to  become  educated  men  as  it 
has  to  compel  the  young  man  to  come  to  the  relief  of 
his  country  in  time  of  war.  He  insists  that  in  both 
cases  the  life  of  the  nation  ma}^  be  involved.  If  our 
young  men  may  be  forced  to  undergo  the  drilling 
needed  to  make  them  soldiers,  why  may  they  not  be 
compelled  to  submit  to  the  school-master  long  enough 
to  be  prepared  as  voters? 

This  is  the  argument,  and  it  is  ingenious,  but  to  my 
own  mind  not  conclusive.  In  making  up  our  minds 
on  this  interesting  question  we  must  remember  that 
we  are  not  Europeans  but  Americans.  Manj^  propo- 
sitions and  many  schemes  would  be  admissible  in  such 
a  government  as  Prussia  which  would  be  wholl}-  out 
of  place  here. 


lo  Government. 

Among  European  monarchies  the  State  is  in  the 
habit  of  interfering  with  the  subject  in  matters  of 
religion,  dictating  in  some  cases  how  one  shall  wor- 
ship God,  while  with  us  it  is  one  of  the  highest  points 
of  our  civilization  that  every  man  shall  worship  God 
according  to  the  mode  which  may  suit  him. 

We  think  nothing  of  governmental  interference  in 
France  or  Germany  in  many  things  which  we  would 
not  endure  in  our  own  country.  Because,  therefore, 
certain  arbitrary  acts  of  these  foreign  governments 
are  submitted  to,  and  even  have  the  appearance  of 
working  well,  we  must  not  suppose  similar  laws  in 
our  own  States  would  be  submitted  to  or  would  be 
right.  Cotton  will  not  grow  in  Alaska,  nor  will  Ice- 
land moss  thrive  in  Central  America.  There  is  a 
great  disposition  to  follow  an}^  thing  new,  especially 
if  it  comes  from  abroad.  Let  us  remember  that  we 
are  "a  peculiar  people,  a  chosen  generation."  Let  us 
not  forget  that  we  of  America  have  taken  a  new 
departure  in  human  liberty  and  human  civilization, 
and  that  having  so  recently  and  by  such  a  mighty 
effort  shaken  off  European  excrescences,  we  can  not 
now  afford  to  graft  upon  our  young  tree  twigs  which 
have  come  of  their  old  stocks. 

It  is  a  fundamental  principle  in  the  common  law 
that  the  parent  has  the  right  to  the  services  of  his 
child  during  minority.  This  doctrine  has  its  origin  in 
that  great  commandment  issued  by  the  Chief  of  law- 
givers from  Sinai :  "  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother, 
that  thou  mayest  live  long  in  the  land  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  giveth  thee."  It  is  therefore  the  perfection 
of  wisdom  from  which  there  can  be  no  appeal.  This 
makes  the  family  a  government,  and  the  parent  is 
placed  at  the  head  of  that  government.     It  is  the  only 


GOVERXMENT.  II 

human  government  which  was  organized  by  the  Crea- 
ator.  In  pursuance  of  this  wise  mandate  the  common 
law  has  been  careful  to  uphold  the  right  of  the  parent, 
and  never  to  interfere  except  in  cases  of  absolute 
necessit}'.  Its  policy  has  been  non-intervention ;  and 
so  sacred  are  the  rights  of  the  parent  regarded,  that 
his  power  to  inflict  chastisement  is  never  challenged 
except  where  it  amounts  to  brutality.  He  may,  even, 
in  his  discretion,  leave  at  his  death  all  his  property  to 
strangers,  by  will,  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  his  chil- 
dren ;  and  he  has  many  other  extraordinary  powers 
which  we  need  not  stop  here' to  enumerate.  This 
right  to  the  child's  services  rests  in  part,  no  doubt, 
upon  the  circumstance  that  on  the  parent  is  devolved 
the  care  and  support  of  the  child,  during  all  its  tender 
3'ears.  And  none  but  a  parent  can  appreciate  the 
great  anxiety  and  suffering  of  mind  and  body  to  be 
endured  in  the  proper  attentions  to  these  helpless  ones 
whom  God  has  given  him. 

Happily,  the  Almighty  has  implanted  in  our  hearts 
an  undying  love  for  our  offspring,  which  is  in  general 
a  .sure  guaranty  against  any  abuse  of  our  power  or 
our  sacred  trust.  By  the  divine  law  and  by  the  mu- 
nicipal law,  every  father  has  a  vested  right  in  the 
services  of  his  child.  He  may  command  him  to  labor 
in  his  shop,  store,  or  field,  or  he  ma}'  command  him 
to  labor  in  the  field  of  another,  and  take  the  wages  of 
his  son  for  his  own  or  for  the  general  maintenance  of 
the  family.  During  the  period  of  minority  the  parent 
has  as  perfect  a  right  to  the  services  and  wages  of  his 
child  as  formerly  the  master  had  to  the  services  and 
wages  of  his  slave,  or,  as  we  now  have,  to  the  services  or 
wages  earned  by  a  domestic  animal.  The  services  of  the 
child,  in  very  man}-  instances,  constitute  .the  parents' 


12  Government. 

whole  estate.  The  banker  owns  his  stocks  and  the 
farmer  owns  his  lands,  and  from  the  interest  on  the 
one  and  rents  from  the  other  an  income  and  a  support 
is  made;  but  the  parent  who  has  no  stocks  and  no 
lands  must  often  depend  on  his  children's  labor  for 
his  own  support  and  theirs.  In  that  case  he  may  say 
truly  of  his  children:  "These  are  my  jewels;"  these 
are  my  all.  * 

Our  Federal  Constitution  declares  that  no  property 
of  an\-  citizen  shall  in  any  case  be  taken  from  him, 
nor  shall  he  be  deprived  of  its  use  without  just  com- 
pensation. That  wise  clause  would  protect  the  banker 
in  the  enjoyment  of  his  bonds  and  the  farmer  in  the 
enjoyment  of  his  lands.  Shall  it  not  by  fair  interpre- 
tation be  extended  to  the  case  of  the  parent  who  has 
neither,  but  relies  wholly  on  the  earnings  of  his  chil- 
dren? If  we  admit  the  right  of  the  State  to  pass  a 
law  b}-  which  ofhcers  shall  be  sent  to  invade  his  sacred 
little  family  government  and  take  his  children  away, 
whether  opportunely  or  not,  and  compel  them  to  go  to 
a  school  not  of  his  own  choice  perhaps,  and  deprive 
him  of  their  services,  which  constitute  his  own  and 
their  support,  is  it  not  a  breaking  down  of  the  spirit 
if  not  the  letter  of  the  constitutional  provision?  Edu- 
cation is  important,  but  bread  and  meat  are  indispen- 
sable. Learning  is  good,  but  clothing  and  food  and 
shelter  are  of  paramount  importance.  We  must  look 
at  this  subject  practically.  If  all  men  were  bankers 
and  land  holders  a  compulsory  law  to  educate  might 
be  well ;  but  such  is  not  the  case.  The  great  masses 
are  poor,  and  thousands  of  men  could  not  afford  to 
relinquish  their  children's  services  without  great  suf- 
fering to  both.  Laws  must  be  made  for  society  as  it 
is — for  the  many  and  not  for  the  few. 


Government.  13 

If  the  child  must  go  to  school  by  law,  of  course  he 
must  go  at  stated  times,  when  the  teacher  is  there  and 
when  the  other  scholars  are  there.  The  parent  and 
child  are  made  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the 
school,  and  the  officer  of  the  law  and  not  the  parent 
must  judge  of  the  matter.  The  law,  to  be  effective, 
must  operate  alike  on  all.  No  discretion  must  be 
allowed  the  parent.  Any  such  clause  in  the  law 
would  be  the  knife  by  which  the  law  itself  would  be 
emasculated. 

Should  the  law  allow  that  even  the  teacher  or  some 
officer  might  suspend  its  penalties  in  extreme  cases, 
see  what  a  state  of  things  we  should  have!  These 
extreme  cases  must  be  investigated.  The  private 
affairs  of  the  family,  its  distresses,  its  privations,  its 
necessities,  all  those  sacred  things  we  may  now  keep 
to  ourselves,  would  be  paraded  before  some  tribunal,  to 
be  known  and  heard  and  perhaps  laughed  at  by  a  gap- 
ing crowd.  Should  a  compulsor}-  law  prevail,  it  must 
have  a  sanction,  or  otherwise  it  would  be  worthless. 

A  set  of  officers  in  every  school  district  would  be 
required — some  to  compel  the  attendance  of  scholars 
*  and  some  to  judge  of  the  infractions  of  the  law — for 
the  law  would  certainly  be  violated,  and  that,  too, 
very  often.  These  officers,  to  be  efficient,  must  be 
paid,  probably  by  a  fine  upon  the  delinquent,  the  in- 
former to  receive  one  half  and  the  government  the 
other,  after  the  manner  of  a  qui  tarn  action.*  Can  any 
one  doubt  that  all  this  would  lead  to  a  system  of 
espionage,  to  petty  despotism,  to  feuds,  and  often  to 
bloodshed?  No  American  citizen  will  submit  to  inter- 
meddling in  the  private  affairs  of  his  household;  and 
this  interference  is  equally  offensive,  whether  it  comes 
from  an  officer  of  the  law  or  a  private  person.     I  am 


14  Government. 

opposed  to  compulsory  education,  because  it  conflicts 
with  the  right  given  to  the  parent  by  the  law  of  God 
and  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land.  I  am  opposed 
to  it  because  if  effectively  carried  out  it  would  neces- 
sarily operate  with  great  hardship  upon  thousands  of 
poor  citizens,  by  depriving  them  often  of  their  only 
means  of  support,  or  putting  them  to  the  greatest 
inconvenience.  I  am  opposed  to  it  because  it  would 
lead  to  ah  invasion  of  the  family — that  holy  place — 
by  strangers.  I  am  opposed  to  it  because  the  natural 
affection  which  parents  have  for  their  children  will 
prompt  them  generally  to  advance  them  to  the  extent 
of  their  ability.  If  the  State  will  provide  the  schools 
by  suitable  taxation,  the  great  majority  of  parents 
will  gladly  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  offered. 

I^astly,  I  am  opposed  to  it,  because  it  would  soon 
result  in  strife  between  the  different,  sects  of  Chris- 
tians, free-thinkers,  and  those  who  reject  the  Script- 
ures in  whole  or  in  part. 

Some  would  insist,  as  they  now  do,  upon  teaching 
the  Bible  in  the  public  schools  and  others  would 
oppose  it.  Protestants,  if  in  the  majority,  would  have 
King  James'  or  the  late  English  version,  while  the  -* 
Catholics  would  insist  on  their  own  version,  and  the 
Jews  would  urge  that  only  the  Old  Scriptures  should 
be  read,  and  the  atheist  that  there  should  be  none  at 
all.  Thus  the  dominant  sects  would  control  the  legis- 
lation, and  the  other  sects,  with  equal  rights  of  con- 
science, would  be  forced  to  pay  taxes  to  support 
schools  they  hated,  and  possibly  to  send  their  children' 
to  schools  whose  teachings  they  despised.  If  the  State 
must  legislate  on  this  subject,  let  it  use  incentives 
other  than  force.  Let  it  require  a  certain  degree  of 
learning  to  entitle  one  to  the  ballot. 


Government.  15 

But  even  this  much  might  be  unjust  and  inexpedi" 
ent.  Indeed,  after  much  thought,  my  own  humble 
opinion  is  that  the  less  we  are  interfered  with  in  our 
family  affairs,  the  control  and  education  of  our  chil- 
dren, by  the  State,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  State 
itself,  the  children,  and  the  parents.  But  I  dismiss 
this  most  fruitful  topic  and  proceed  to  another  branch 
of  my  subject. 

Government  should  begin  in  the  family;  and  it  is 
but  a  step  from  the  famil}-  to  the  school-room.  If 
the  government  in  the  first  has  been  proper,  the 
task  of  the  teacher  is  easy.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, the  master  can  not  alwa^'S  rely  on  family  sup- 
port. He  must  therefore  formulate  and  exercise  a 
government  of  his  own  as  if  he  had  no  help  else- 
where. He  must  not  only  instruct,  but  he  must  gov- 
ern. And  the  two  are  so  intimately  blended  that  the 
one  can  not  be  separated  from  the  other.  Thus  the 
teacher  who  can  not  instruct  well  can  not  govern,  and 
he  who  can  not  govern  successfully  can  not  instruct 
effectually.  Whenever  we  talk  of  government  we 
think  at  once  of  punishment.  Government  implies 
law,  and  law  is  a  nullity  without  a  sanction.  And  in 
municipal  law  that  sanction  consists  in  a  fine  or  some 
torture  of  the  body. 

Following  this  the  school-master  seems  to  think  the 
rod  is  an  indispensable  factor  in  his  administration, 
and  in  days  past  he  used  it  with  more  frequency  than 
discrimination.  I  do  not  sa}'  the  rod  or  other  corporal 
punishment  should  be  entirely  ignored,  but  I  do  say 
it  should  be  the  extreme  medicine  of  the  administra- 
tion rather  than  its  daily  food.  It  should  be  seldom 
displayed,  but  should  rather  be  kept  out  of  sight,  and 
better  and  higher  inducements  should  be  presented 


i6  Government. 

to  the  child  than  the  fear  of  a  castigation  by  brute 
force.  How  many  sad  mistakes  have  been  made  just 
here !  How  many  children  have  been  ruined  by  the 
improper  and  intemperate  use  of  force  often  impelled 
by  anger ! 

As  the  physician  in  days  gone  by  often  destroyed 
the  life  of  his  patient  by  the  terrible  mistake  of  with- 
holding water,  and  instead  thereof  administering  some 
nauseating  drug,  so  the  teacher  has  often  embittered 
and  discouraged  the  vvhole  life  of  his  pupil  by  the  use 
of  stern  force,  where  a  sweet,  cheery  word,  with  kind- 
ness and  hope  expressed,  would  have  been  a  complete 
specific.  The  day  has  been,  but  is  now  passing  away, 
when  to  tame  the  ox  or  the  horse  ropes  and  staves 
were  used.  The  animal  was  forced  to  submit  at  the 
outset.  He  had  no  alternative.  He  was  not  consulted. 
He  knew  nothing  but  force.  Fear  made  him  obey. 
His  disposition  in  many  cases  was  spoiled,  and  he  was 
never  to  be  trusted.  Now  men  have  adopted  toward 
these  useful  animals  entirely  different  and  opposite 
methods.  The  creature  is  taught  to  love  his  master. 
All  fear  is  removed.  He  hears  only  words  of  kind- 
ness ,and  even  of  affection.  His  work  becomes  actu- 
ally a- work  of  love.  He  will  do  any  thing  for  his 
master,  ^knowing  that  he  will  be  rewarded  in  due  time 
with  kindness  and  cprn.  Thus  treated,  he  does  not 
kick  or  break  away.  He  will  stand  or  move  at  the 
word,  and  when  he  draws  he  will  draw  willingly,  and 
draw  w'ith  might  and  main. 

Our  Savior  said  to  his  followers,  "the  children  of 
this  world  are  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  chil- 
dren of  light."  Shall  it  be  .said  that  the  keeper  of 
the  stud  and  the  dairy  are  wiser  in  their  methods  with 
the  dumb  creatures  in  their  control  than  ourselves  and 


^PRCossiTr.O-.0^ 


Government.  17 

those  like  us,  who  have  in  our  training  those  who 
think  and  reason — members  of  our  immortal  race? 
How  much  better  is  the  child  than  the  horse !  How 
much  more  can  he  be  influenced  by  better  motives ! 
How  much  deeper  and  more  susceptible  are  his  affec- 
tions !  How  much  higher  and  nobler  are  his  aspirations. 

The  horse  has  no  conscience,  but  the  child  has. 
The  well-weaned  horse  does  not  love  his  mother ;  the 
child  does.  The  horse  does  not  care  what  other  horses 
think  of  him.  He  does  not  expect  to  be. rich  or  great. 
He  does  not  think  one  day  of  being  in  the  pulpit,  at 
the  bar,  or  in  Congress,  or  even  in  the  seat  of  the  ped- 
agogue. He  is  not  influenced  by  the  feats  of  Buceph- 
alus, who  bore  the  great  Macedonian  conqueror,  nor 
has  he  heard  of  the  achievements  of  Dexter  or  Maud 
S.  or  Spokane  of  modern  times.  He  has  no  anticipa- 
tions of  death,  and  does  not  expect  to  get  to  heaven. 
How  few  then  are  the  motives  that  would  influence 
the  brute  on  the  one  hand  and  how  infinite  those 
which  would  induce  the  child  on  the  other!  The 
horse  is  controlled  by  pressure  upon  two  reins,  but 
the  teacher  may  touch  a  thousand  cords  to  which  the 
child  nature  will  respond.  It  should  be  his  study  to 
acquaint  himself  with  these,  so  as  to  manipulate  them 
with  skill.  Thus  acting,  he  will  find  little  use  for  the 
rod. 

There  will  be  found  now  and  then  a  child  in  whose 
heart  folly  is  so  bound  up  that  nothing  short  of  the  rod 
of  correction  will  bring  it  out.  But  when  this  becomes 
the  necessary  resort  the  punishment  should  be  admin- 
istered without  passion.  Anger  begets  anger,  just  as 
mirth  begets  mirth.  Correction,  administered  kindly 
and  even  affectionately,  is  far  more  effective  and  last- 
ing than  when  delivered  in  a  fret  or  a  rage. 


i8  Government. 

In  the  next  place,  I  must  be  permitted  here  to  de- 
nounce the  manner  of  punishment  sometimes  given. 
I  have  seen  a  teacher  who  had  discovered  two  small 
boys  talking  in  study  hours  approach  noiselessly  from 
behind  them,  seize  each  by  the  hair,  and  then  bring 
their  heads  together  with  a  violent  thud — enough  to 
produce  concussion  of  the  brain.  That  teacher  was 
a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  but  he  deserved  to  be  ex- 
pelled from  his  church  and  indicted  and  punished  in 
the  courts.  Allow  me  to  suggest  that  if  the  body 
must  be  tortured,  the  head  and  face,  the  seat  of  the 
brain  and  so  many  of  the  senses,  should  at  least  be 
exempt.  Nature  is  abundant  in  her  provisions.  Ver- 
bimi  sat  sapic7iti. 

The  punishment  should  be  graduated  to  the  offense. 
Better  too  little  than  too  much.  Here,  if.  ever,  we 
should  err  on  the  safe  side.  Ordinarily,  censure  be- 
fore the  school,  private  reproof,  a  bad  mark,  a  letter 
to  parents,  detention  of  the  pupil  after  school  hours, 
will  suffice.  In  the  next  place,  I  wish  to  say  that  the 
human  mind  can  entertain  but  one  thought  at  the 
same  time.  If,  therefore,  the  teacher  can  keep  the 
mind  of  his  pupil  interested  in  the  work  before  him, 
there  will  be  little  need  of  other  government.  To 
effect  this  children  should  not  be  kept  confined  long 
upon  one  subject  or  on  uncomfortable  seats.  Recesses 
should  be  frequent  and  each  task  very  short. 

The  teacher  and  the  parent  should  remember  that 
the  whole  of  life  is  before  the  child.  When  the  house 
is  hastily  built  the  great  weight  of  the  superstructure 
upon  the  unhardened  cement  beneath  produces  a  wall 
cranky  and  unsafe.  The  wall  should  go  up  slowly. 
One  brick  must  be  carefully  laid  at  a  time,  giving 
opportunity  for  the  cement  to  become  dry  and  adhe- 


Government.  19 

sive.     Then  the  wall  will  be  solid  and  capable  of  sup- 
porting an  indefinite  pressure  from  above. 

If  the  teacher  can  fasten  in  the  mind  but  one  or  two 
thoughts  in  a  whole  day  he  has  done  well — well  for 
himself,  well  for  the  child.  I  speak  of  this  here  be- 
cause the  plan  I  suggest  will  make  easy  work  for  the 
teacher  in  governing,  and  easy  and  delightful  work 
for  the  5'oung  learner.  The  school  will  become  at- 
tractive to  the  child.  He  will  rejoice  at  the  privilege 
of  going  rather  than  look  upon  it  with  dread  and 
terror.  I  am  aware  that  while  most  intelligent  teach- 
ers will  agree  with  me  in  all  this,  they  will  refer  to 
the  very  foolish  notion  which  exists  among  many  of 
their  patrons  and,  unhappily,  among  many  of  our 
school  boards  and  school  directors,  that  the  children 
should  go  to  school  early  and  come  home  late,  and 
remain  at  work  al^  the  time.  But  the  teachers  of  the 
country  should  control  in  this  matter,  just  as  the  phy- 
sician and  the  lawyer  control  the  patient  and  the  cli- , 
ent.  The  great  question  is,  "What  is  best  for  the 
pupil?  "     And  the  teacher  should  decide  it. 

I  now  come  to  speak  of  laws  for  the  government 
of  schools  and  colleges ;  and  I  set  out  with  the  prop- 
osition that  the  fewer  the  rules,  the  shorter  the  code, 
the  better  for  all. 

There  is  in  human  nature  a  disposition  to  resent 
restraint  of  any  sort,  to  resent  coercion,  even  when 
the  thing  commanded  is  right  and  of  easy  perform- 
ance. This  is  well  illustrated  b}-  Shakespeare,  where 
Prince  Hal  commanded  the  doughty  Falstaff  to  give 
his  reasons,  and  the  latter  replied  that  if  reasons  were 
as  thick  as  blackberries  he  would  not  give  them  upon 
compulsion.  The  case  of  Sliimei  is  also  in  point.  In 
David's  weakness  and  distress  Shimei  had  cursed  him. 


20  Government. 

David  told  Solomon  that  when  he  should  ascend  the 
throne  he  desired  him  to  remember  Shimei's  offense. 
Solomon  afterward  called  Shiraei  and  reminded  him 
of  the  indignity  to  his  father,  and  commanded  him 
that  he  should  never  cross  the  brook  Kidron,  saying 
that  in  the  day  he  crossed  that  stream  he  should  for- 
feit his  life. 

Here  was  the  command.  Had  it  not  been  issued 
the  probability  is  the  man  would  never  have  thought 
of  crossing  the  brook,  but  no  doubt  an  instantaneous 
desire  seized  upon  him  to  go  over,  just  because  it  had 
been  forbidden,  and  he  never  rested  until  he  did  it. 
This  was  just  what  the  wise  king  expected  and  de- 
sired, as  it  afforded  him  the  opportunity  of  avenging 
the  insult  to  his  father. 

It  may  be  difficult  to  account  for  the  disposition  in 
our  race  to  which  I  refer,  but  we  must  all  admit  that  it 
does  exist.  It  may  arise  from  an  innate  sense  of  free- 
dom or  an  innate  inclination  to  rebel  against  author- 
ity. However  this  ma}^  be,  it  becomes  us  to  recog- 
nize it  and  adjust  our  administration  with  reference 
to  it.  Hence,  I  repeat,  the  laws  and  rules  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  students  should  be  exceedingly  few  and 
very  short. 

There  is  a  principle  to  which  I  advert,  a  knowledge 
of  which  will  greatly  aid  us  in  the  management  of 
schools.  President  Johnson,  during  the  days  of  Re- 
construction, announced  it  as  the  proper  plan  for  the 
government  of  the  Southern  States.  Said  he,  "The 
people  must  be  trusted." 

Every  body  likes  to  be  trusted — the  child,  the  serv- 
ant, the  friend,  the  wife,  the  husband,  the  student, 
and — I  speak  it  with  reverence — our  heaA'enly  Father 
above  is  included  in  this  remark,  for  "without  faith  it 


Government.  21 

is  impossible  to  please  God."  He  has  made  us  like 
himself;  we  are,  in  some  sense,  his  express  image. 
Many  a  thief  has  been  made  for  the  want  of  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  principle.  The  housewife  who  counts 
the  potatoes  and  the  loaves  of  bread,  and  watches  the 
cook  to  see  what  goes  out  and  exactly  what  comes  in, 
will  inevitably  beget  in  the  servant  a  disposition  to 
steal,  which  will  be  carried  out  the  first  opportunity. 

My  little  son  asked  me  one  Sundaj-  if  he  might  sit 
in  a  certain  part  of  the  church  during  ser\'ice  with 
another  boy.  "Certainly,"  said  I;  "my  son,  I  know 
that  wherever  you  sit  in  the  church  you  will  behave 
like  a  gentleman."  And  so  he  did.  Nothing  could 
have  induced  that  boy  to  have  misbehaved.  He  felt 
that  the  responsibility  was  thrown  upon  him — that  he 
was  trusted. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  for  us  to  assume  that  the  young 
men  and  women  who  come  to  our  institutions  of  learn- 
ing are  all  bad — all  determined  to  do  wrong.  It  is  a 
great  mistake  for  us  to  assume  that  we,  their  teachers, 
are  better  than  they  are,  for  such  is  not  the  fact.  As 
a  rule  they  have  been  reared  in  good  families;  they 
have  been  taught  politeness,  reverence,  right  and 
wrong ;  they  have  conscience,  respect  for  themselves, 
and  a  due  regard  to  public  opinion.  Besides  this,  the 
great  mass  of  them  have  a  desire  to  learn,  and  are 
willing  to  submit  to  all  reasonable  requirements  for 
that  purpose.  Now,  I  say,  to  thrust  into  the  faces  of 
such  young  men  a  voluminous  and  exacting  code  of 
laws,  regulating  their  hours  of  study,  their  behavior 
to  their  instructors,  to  the  citizens,  and  to  one  another, 
prescribing  a  time  to  rise  up  and  a  time  to  lie  down,  a 
time  to  walk  and  a  time  to  talk,  a  time  to  recreate  and 
a  time  to  pray,  is  calculated  to  raise  a  feeling  of  resent- 


22  Government. 

ment,  to  beget  in  the  matriculate  the  spirit  of  rebell- 
ion. I  trust  I  may  be  pardoned,  in  closing  what  I 
have  to  say,  to  refer  to  my  own  experience  and  obser- 
vation. 

When  I  became  connected  with  Cumberland  Uni- 
versit}^  as  a  trustee  and  then  as  a  teacher,  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  there  was  a  formidable  code  of  laws 
in  force.  It  was  not  so  large  a  book  as  the  municipal 
code  of  Tennessee,  but  it  was  divided  into  chapters 
and  sections,  and  related  to  every  possible  situation 
and  condition  of  the  student.  In  fact,  it  was  such  a 
set  of  laws  as  I  have  heretofore  indicated.  This  code 
was  presented  to  the  student  immediately  after  his 
matriculation.  It  was  itself  a  study,  and  a  much  more 
difficult  and  objectionable  one  than  many  of  the  text- 
books in  the  regular  curriculum.  It  provided  for 
monitors  and  tutors,  who  had  power  to  invade  the 
students'  rooms.  It  recognized  a  detestable  system 
of  espionage.  It  exacted  certain  marks  of  respect 
to  the  professors.  Throughout  it  assumed  that  the 
professors  were  exalted  beings  and  far  removed  from 
the  students,  and  that  the  latter  were  not  only  inferior 
persons,  but  that  they  would  violate  every  enactment 
of  those  sacred  by-laws  if  the  opportunity  occurred. 
It  prescribed  hours  of  devotion;  it  regulated  and 
restrained  young  men  even  in  their  liberty  of  locomo- 
tion. And  for  a  violation  of  these  and  scores  of  other 
laws  various  penalties  were  affixed.  The  result  was 
that  the  faculty  found  it  necessary  to  hold  a  regular 
court  one  day  in  each  week  to  try  offenders.  Satur- 
day was  state's  day.  Before  this  awful  tribunal  scores 
of  culprits  were  formally  summoned  each  week  to 
appear. 

Absence  from  class,  absence  from  prayers,  tardiness 


Government.  23 

three  minutes  and  a  half,  walking  out  at  the  wrong 
time,  visiting  a  fellow-student's  room  in  study  hours, 
and  scores  of  othe'r  lighter  and  heavier  crimes  were 
on  the  trial  docket. 

It  would  not  be  safe  for  me  to  estimate  at  this  dis- 
tance the  number  of  lies  perpetrated  on  such  occa- 
sions, for,  contrary  to  the  rule  of  common  law,  the 
offender  was  put  on  the  witness  stand  and  asked  to 
testify  against  himself,  which  generally  he  was  loth  to 
do.  It  would  hardly  be  respectful  to  the  memor}'  of 
those  who  sat  in  judgment  to  tell  some  of  the  penal- 
ties inflicted.  Among  others,  however,  I  remember 
that  some  were  required  in  the  presence  of  the  assem- 
bled faculty  and  students  to  make  most  humiliating 
confessions  of  sin  and  earnest  promises  of  future  good 
conduct,  and  especiall}'  begging  the  pardon  of  some 
particular  teacher  whose  dignity  had  been  offended. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  what  a  state  of  things  all  this 
would  bring  about.  Resentment  and  spite  toward  the 
by-laws  and  the  professors,  bickerings,  and  hard  feel- 
ings among  students  who  were  witnesses  against  their 
fellows,  looseness  of  conscience  and  want  of  reverence 
for  the  truth,  consumption  of  valuable  time,  dissatis- 
faction among  patrons,  and  an  eternal  worry  and  em- 
barrassment for  the  professors.  It  was  not  to  be 
endured. 

The  war  between  the  States,  which  broke  up  the 
Union,  broke  up  the  college.  That  war  which  over- 
whelmed so  much  that  was  good  buried  also  forever 
out  of  our  sight  much  that  was  evil,  and  I  am  happy 
to  sa3%  among  other  things,  the  by-laws  of  Cumber- 
land University.  Upon  re-opening  in  1865  no  copy 
of  them  could  be  found.  I  have  much  desired  a  copy 
for  a  long  time  as  a  curiosity,  but  can  find  none.     So 


24  Government. 

we  began  without  laws,  and  seeing  it  worked  well, 
have  continued  without  laws.  Our  whole  code  is  com- 
prehended in  this  one  phrase:  ''''Senipcr  prossens,  sem- 
per paraiiis" — alwaj'S  present  at  the  class  and  always 
ready  to  recite.  As  is  our  Savior's  formula  of  the 
moral  law,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart,  soul,  and  strength,  and  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself,"  so  is  semper  prceseiis,  semper  par  at  us  a  com- 
plete expression  of  college  law. 

We  find  that  every  3-oung  man  brings  a  law  with 
him.  He  learned  it  from  his  mother  and  his  father. 
He  imbibed  it  from  the  community  in  which  he  was 
reared.  He  has  it  in  his  heart  and  conscience;  in 
short,  he  is  a  law  unto  himself  We  now  assume  that 
he  knows  as  well  as  we  do  what  is  right  and  what  is 
wrong.  We  assume  that  the  famil}^  and  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  was  bred  is  as  good  as  ours.  We 
assume  that  he  will  do  his  dut5^  We  recognize  the 
fact,  heretofore  ignored,  that  students  have  rights  as 
well  as  teachers.  We  meet  him  as  a  gentleman ;  we 
treat  him  as  a  gentleman  both  in  the  class-room  and 
upon  the  streets.  We  throw  upon  him  the  responsi- 
bility of  a  gentleman  and  he  rarely  disappoints  us. 
We  have  no  spies.  We  never  invade  his  private 
apartments  except  to  visit  him  when  he  is  sick  and 
ojBfer  him  our  aid  and  our  sympathies.  We  do  not  con- 
cern ourselves  as  to  when  or  where  he  shall  walk  or 
ride  or  hunt  or  visit.  All  this  is  none  of  our  business. 
We  do  not  coerce  him  in  matters  of  religion.  While 
we  advise  him  to  attend  church,  all  our  rehgious  ex- 
ercises are  purely  voluntary.  We  do  not  believe  there 
is  any  virtue  in  compulson,'  prayers.  We  insist  upon 
nothing  except  that  he  shall  demean  himself  as  a  gen- 
tleman, obey  the  laws  of  the  land  like  other  citizens, 


Government.  25 

and  that  he  shall  be  always  present  at  his  class  and 
always  prepared  to  recite. 

What  hafe  been  the  result?  Astonishingly  good. 
For  twenty  years  we  have  administered  the  affairs  of 
our  institution  upon  these  liberal  principles.  I  can 
not  say  that  in  all  that  time  we  have  had  no  disorder 
whatever.  No  government  is  perfect.  But  I  will  say 
there  is  a  vast  difference  in  favor  of  our  modern  code. 
As  a  rule  our  students  have  been  deferential,  punctual, 
sober,  and  studious;  and  we  would  not  on  any  account 
return  to  the  old  method. 

I  hope  it  will  be  understood  that  in  all  that  has  been 
said  no  reflection  is  intended  upon  the  government  of 
other  schools  or  colleges.  I  have  only  meant  to  com- 
pare the  tw^o  systems  adopted  first  and  last  by  the 
corporation  with  which  I  am  myself  connected,  and 
by  no  means  to  criticise  others. 

Lastl}',  let  me  say  to  you,  my  friends  and  colabora- 
tors:  Of  our  subjects  we  must  be  perfect  masters;  we 
must  interest  the  minds  of  our  students;  we  must 
teach  with  energy,  teach  with  enthusiasm  ;  then,  as  to 
the  government  bearing  upon  our  pupils,  the  yoke 
will  be  easy  and  the  burden  will  be  light. 


What  Is  It? 


By  S.  G.  BURNEY,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Systematic  Theology. 

This  to  you,  j^otmg  gentlemen  of  the  graduating 
class,  is  a  happ}^  a  proud  day — a  day  that  crowns  your 
years  of  self-denial  and  patient,  persistent  toil  with 
coveted  baccalaureate  honors.  It  is,  moreover,  a  day 
of  joyous  congratulations  on  the  part  of  your  kindred 
— fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sisters;  also  on  the  part 
of  numerous  warm,  personal  fi;iends. 

Aside  from  the  noble  self-complacency  consequent 
upon  the  honorable  completion  of  your  respective 
scholastic  duties,  you  have  the  pleasing  assurance  of 
the  possession  of  intellectual  and  moral  ability  to  form 
and  execute  purposes  honorable  in  themselves  and 
beneficent  in  their  results.  One  hard  battle  gallantly 
won  gives  valuable  experience,  gives  more  self-reli- 
ance, and  more  courage  for  other  conflicts,  and  gener- 
ally presages  other  and  greater  victories. 

But  another  source  of  self-felicitation  open  to  you 
to-day  is  the  power  of  self-control  which  3'ou  have 
acquired  during  these  years  of  ardent  and  patient  toil. 
"  He  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit  is  better  than  he  that 
taketh  a  city."  Perhaps  the  most  difficult  thing  men 
are  ever  required  to  govern  is  self.  He  that  can  gov- 
ern  himself  can    govern  every  thing  else  that  it  is 

="An  address  to  the  graduating  Classes  in  Cumberland  University,  delivered 
on  Commencement  Day,  1884. 
(26) 


What  Is  It?  27 

properl}^  his  province  to  control.  He  that  can  not 
govern  himself  can  govern  nothing  well,  not  even 
irrational  animals,  much  less  men  and  schools  and 
armies  and  nations  and  churches.  On  the  contrary, 
the  power  of  self-control  surpasses  in  value  all  other 
human  powers,  because  without  this  faculty  all  other 
powers,  however  varied  or  brilliant,  are  sure  to  be 
neglected  or  abused  or  prostituted  to  useless  or  igno- 
ble ends.  But  the  faculties  of  self-denial,  patience, 
and  endurance  fit  a  man  for  any  duty  or  position  to 
which  his  natural  capacity  and  education  are  adequate, 
and  give  a  guaranty  of  success  which  nothing  else  can 
give. 

The  fact  that  j-ou  are  to-day  accepted  as  worthy 
candidates  for  baccalaureate  honors  demonstrates  that 
you  possess  in  a  commendable  degree  that  laudable 
power  of  patient  and  persistent  self-denial  and  integ- 
rity of  purpose  which  harbinger  success. 

Under  the  inspiration  given  by  earnest  endeavor  in 
your  college  course  you  go  forth  to-day  with  the  high 
resolve  to  achieve  other  and  greater  conquests  in  other 
and  more  perilous  fields  of  labor.  Be  self-reliant,  but 
expect  success,  not  as  a  thing  of  chance,  but  as  the 
legitimate  reward  of  well-directed  and  persistent  labor. 

It  is  supererogatory  to  say  in  a  formal  way  that  you 
carry  with  }-ou  the  hearty  (^ood-ivill  of  all  the  faculty, 
trustees,  and  a  mixed  multitude  of  others  who  sin- 
cerely desire  your  eminent  success  in  every  laudable 
enterprise  in  which  you  may  engage. 

But  you  have  had  enough  in  this  line  of  thought,  at 
least  for  the  present.  Too  little  of  a  good  thing  sharp- 
ens the  appetite,  gives  a  keener  relish  for  more,  but 
leaves  us  hungry  and  not  in  the  best  humor.  Too 
much  of  a  good  thing  oversatiates  and  leads  to  disgust 


28  What  Is  It? 

— possibly  to  something  worse.  For  five  consecutive 
days  has  been  set  before  you  a  literary  feast  sufficient 
in  quantity,  quality,  and  variety  to  satisfy  the  most 
cormorant-like  and  also  the  most  fastidious  literary 
epicure.  During  this  time  about  forty  literary  per- 
formances have  been  had  in  this  hall.  Of  course  your 
appetites  are  pretty  well  satiated,  and  are  becoming  a 
little  fastidious ;  still,  I  am  required  to  inflict  on  you 
another  performance. 

It  is  common  for  speakers  to  announce  their  subject 
and  then  make  the  speech.  This  gives  the  audience 
the  advantage  of  the  speaker,  enabling  them  to  antic- 
ipate him ;  and  as  men  generall}'  are  more  interested 
in  their  own  thoughts  than  in  those  of  others,  and  of 
course  better  pleased  with  their  own,  they  are  liable 
to  lose  interest  in  the  speaker,  and  not  unfrequently 
deem  the  happiest  passage  in  his  performance  his  pas- 
sage from  the  platform  or  pulpit  to  his  seat.  Unwill- 
ing to  be  put  at  any  such  disadvantage,  I  shall  reverse 
this  rhetorical  canon,  and  instead  of  first  announcing 
my  subject  and  then  making  my  speech,  I  shall  first 
make  my  speech  and  then  announce  my  subject. 

I  am  on  single  duty,  having  nothing  to  do  but  to 
make  my  speech.  But  yon  are  on  double  duty,  hav- 
ing both  to  attend  to  the  facts  as  I  present  them,  and 
also  to  determine  from  those  facts  what  I  am  talking 
about.  This  last  duty  will  afford  you  a  fair  opportu- 
nity for  the  exercise  of  your  skill  in  inductive  logic. 

There  is  of  course  a  limit  to  human  acquirements. 
Many  things,  however  covetable,  are  impossible  of 
attainment  by  us,  by  all  finite  beings.  These  3'ou  can 
readily  enumerate  for  3'ourselves ;  still,  human  possi- 
bilities are  great.  Numerous  and  invaluable  acquisi- 
tions lie  within  the  range  of  human  possibility.     This 


What  Is  It?  29 

fact  you,  young  gentlemen,  have  already  actually  ver- 
ified in  a  praiseworthy  manner,  and  it  is  believed  you. 
will  in  the  coming  years  continue  to  verify  it.  But  I 
wish  on  this  occasion,  so  prolific  of  diverse  emotion- 
joyful,  3-et  sad — to  commend  to  your  most  earnest  and 
favorable  consideration  a  possible  acquisition  which 
is  an  indispensable  factor  in  every  truly  successful 
and  happy  life.  Blessed  with  it  no  life,  however  hum- 
ble, obscure,  or  uneventful,  or  void  of  romance,  can  be 
really  unhappy  or  an  ignominious  failure ;  without  it 
no  life,  however  dazzling  or  brilliant  or  richly  crowned 
with  other  gifts  and  graces,  can  be  justly  accounted  a 
truly  successful  or  happy  one.  As  a  philosophical 
truth,  the  only  truly  successful  life  is  the  life  made 
happy  by  benefactions  to  others.  Those  that  bestow 
are  more  blessed  than  those  that  receive. 

The  acquisition  which  I  commend  to-day,  however, 
is  not  always  an  object  of  eager  and  persistent  desire. 
Many  estimate  it  far  less  than  they  do  gold  and  worldly 
pomp  and  power ;  some  estimate  it  less  than  they  do 
genius  and  literary  distinction.  This  failure  of  proper 
estimation  is  because  its  true  value  is  not  properly 
known. 

But  the  fact  that  many  are  ignorant  of  its  value 
does  not  make  its  possession  less  really  a  blessing, 
nor  destitution  of  it  less  a  calamity.  Many  a  golden 
treasure  which  was  once  within  my  reach  has  been 
lost  because  I  did  not  know  its  worth.  But  my  igno- 
rance affected  my  interests  alone  and  in  no  sense  the 
value  of  the  treasure.  It  was  my  calamity  not  to 
know  its  worth — not  to  desire  and  appropriate  it. 

This  acquisition  that  I  commend  to  you  is  not  in 
itself  a  veritable  nondescript,  at  least  not  more  so 
than  many  other  mentionable  things;  still,  it  is  in  the 


30  What  Is  It? 

highest  degree  unique — sid  generis — a  genuine  none- 
such. Yet,  as  we  shall  see,  it  is  in  some  of  its  charac- 
teristics like  many  other  familiar  things.  This  is  lit- 
erally true,  though  there  is  nothing  wholly  like  it  in 
the  realms  of  matter  or  of  mind,  of  facts  or  of  fiction, 
of  entities  or  of  phenomena.  It  is  neither  an  entity 
nor  a  myth,  yet  it  is  a  sensible  reality,  as  real  as  the 
light  of  day.  It  is  not  void  of  vitality  or  force,  but 
is  a  living,  irrepressible  power.  We  may  predicate 
of  it  individuality  as  distinct  from  personality,  or 
personality  as  distinct  from  individuality,  or- one,  or 
both,  or  neither  at  will.  As  an  individuality  it  is  sim- 
ply a  fact  as  distinct  from  other  facts ;  as  a  personality 
it  is  void  of  conscioiisness  and  of  freedom— the  ordi- 
nary characteristics  of  personality. 

We  rightfully  predicate  of  it  action,  powerful  action ; 
but  its  actions  are  not  those  of  deliberate  purpose  but 
of  pure  spontaneity',  not  of  freedom  but  of  sheer  ne- 
cessity, lyike  the  rainbow  it  has  succession,  but  only 
a  relative  identity — is  never  the  same  to  a  plurality 
of  individuals  nor  to  the  same  person  for  the  mill- 
ionth part  of  a  second.  Unlike  the  rainbow,  it  may 
have  perpetual  continuity.  Like  time,  it  may  have 
an  endless  efflux,  but  like  life,  it  never  returns  to  the 
point  of  its  departure.  Like  the  infant  earth,  it  is 
without  form,  but  unlike  the  infant  earth,  it  is  not 
void.  It  is  without  dimensions,  yet  fills  a  place  all 
its  own.  In  itself  a  distinct  reality,  it  may  neverthe- 
less be  metamorphosed  into  its  contradictory.  It  is 
acquirable  by  all,  but  the  crown  jewels  of  the  world 
can  not  purchase  it.  It  is  retainable  by  all,  but  only 
by  the  utmost  fidelity.  "Eternal  vigilance"  is  the 
price  of  its  retention.  It  may  be  bartered  for  other 
things,  but  nothing  in  heaven  or  earth  can  substitute 


What  It  Is? 


31 


it.  When  lost  it  ma}'  sometimes  be  regained,  but,  like 
a  pretty  face  badly  burned,  is  thereby  despoiled  of 
some  of  its  former  beauty.  Unlike  a  pearl  or  dia- 
mond, its  possession  by  one  person  is  not  its  exclusion 
from  others. 

Its  essential  characteristics  are  everywhere  and  al- 
waj'S  the  same,  yet  its  incidental  qualities  are  as 
diverse  and  contradictory  as  the  forms,  features,  and 
fancies  of  its  possessors.  Without  eyes  or  ears  or 
taste  or  olfactory  nerv^e,  it,  like  the  mimosa  ptidica,  or 
sensitive  plant,  has  exquisite  sentient  and  perceptive 
power.  lyike  persons  of  culture  and  taste,  it  discreetly 
commends  and  applauds  the  beautiful  and  the  good,  but 
unlike  serpents  and  geese  and  other  goose-like  sibi- 
lants, it  never  hisses  at  performances  Vv'hich  it  has  no 
capacity  to  appreciate.  Unlike  the  discursive  judg- 
ment, it  never  thinks  or  reasons,  never  doubts  or  hes- 
itates, but,  like  instinct,  leaps  swift  as  the  electric 
spark  to  its  object  when  perceived. 

lyike  the  custodians  of  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries,  its 
possessors  form  a  peculiar  class,  yet  within  that  class 
are  included  every  variety  and  contrariety  of  con- 
dition, culture,  and  opinion — the  learned,  the  less 
learned,  and  the  unlearned,  the  rich,  the  less  rich,  and 
the  extremely  poor.  It  is  the  exclusive  possession 
of  no  one  age,  but  of  all  ages,  of  no  one  nation,  but 
of  all  nations,  of  no  one  religion,  but  of  all  religions 
— of  pagans,  Mohammedans,  Jews,  and  Chri.stians.  It 
is  common  to  conservatives,  liberals,  fanatics,  and 
the  superstitious.  Nor  is  it  the  peculiar  treasure  of 
the  wise  and  prudent,  the  pious  and  the  good,  but  is 
often  the  boasted  possession  of  the  indiscreet  and  the 
foolish,  of  the  ruthless  tyrant  and  the  remorseless 
persecutor  for  opinion's  sake. 


32  What  Is  It? 

Men,  blindly  impelled  by  selfishness,  jealousy,  envy, 
and  malice,  often  mistake  these  vile  passions  for  the 
behests  of  its  authoritative  voice,  and  in  its  imperial 
name  perpetrate  infernal  deeds.  In  its  name  and  with 
its  concurrence  most  unjust  and  cruel  wars  have  been 
waged  and  tragic  deeds  of  darkness  perpetrated.  lyike 
a  faithful  and  well-drilled  soldier,  it  is  ever  true  to  its 
leader,  and  always  does  valiant  service,  sometimes  in 
a  good  and  sometimes  in  a  bad  cause.  It. is  strictly 
law-abiding,  but  knows  no  law  but  the  subjective,  and 
no  authority  but  that  of  its  possessor.  As  an  individ- 
ual possession,  what  it  approves  in  one  it  approves  in 
all,  and  conversely,  as  a  common  possession  of  A  and 
B,  what  it  approves  in  one  it  often  condemns  in  others. 

Like  human  nature,  it  has  many  defects;  but  like 
human  nature,  it  has  many  noble  qualities  and  some 
grand  possibilities.  This  will  appear  from  the  fol- 
lowing statements.  Like  every  thing  else  entitive 
or  phenomenal,  it  has  its  mission,  and  functions  suited 
to  that  mission.  Its  office,  in  large  measure,  is  to  hold 
in  check  wanton  willfulness  and  maintain  the  reign 
of  harmony  and  peace  within  all  the  realm  of  the 
human  soul,  to  guard  its  possessor  against  all  self- 
imposable  evil  and  to  facilitate  the  acquisition  of  every 
available  good.  Unlike  the  sychophant,  it  never  flat- 
ters ;  unlike  the  false  friend,  it  never  deceives.  Like 
a  true  friend,  it  approves  and  cheers  when  recognized 
duty  has  been  done,  and  when  temptation  is  near  and 
danger  threatens,  it  whispers,  in  the  graphic  words  of 
the  prisoner  to  his  jailer,  "  Do  thyself  no  harm." 

It  is  an  ever-present  benefactor  to  its  possessor,  his 
faithful  guardian  angel  by  day  and  by  night,  the  con- 
servator of  good  health,  muscular  vigor,  personal 
beauty,   dignity,   and   grace.     It   is   a   preventive   of 


What  Is  It?  33 

guilty  and  tragic  dreams  which  are  often  more  fright- 
ful than  horrid  nightmare.  It  has  talismanic  power 
against  domestic  infelicities.  It  inspires  courage  in 
danger  and  fortitude  in  the  severest  calamities.  The 
path  of  its  possessor  may  not  be  strewn  with  pearls  or 
diamonds  of  high  commercial  value,  but  it  is  in  itself  a 
pearl  of  far  greater  price.  It  is  the  light  of  the  soul's 
inner  world,  whose  perfection  invests  the  outer  world 
with  a  radiance  and  beauty  which  seem  divine. 

Who  has  it  has  what  neither  heaven  nor  earth  can 
give ;  who  has  it  not  had  best  not  been  born.  It  has 
a  correlative  that  bears  the  same  surname,  but  whose 
cognomen  is  bad.  There  is  a  striking  family  likeness 
between  them,  but  like  Isaac  and  Ishmael  their  hands 
are  against  each  other. 

As  the  world  can  not  endure  two  suns,  nor  Persia 
two  kings,  so  no  man  can  endure  the  presence  of  these 
antithetical  correlatives.  Like  light  and  darkness,  the 
presence  of  the  one  is  the  exclusion  of  the  other.  Bad 
in  infancy  was  as  fair  and  as  lovely  as  its  relative,  but 
its  development  was  under  adverse  conditions,  and 
like  Lucifer,  falling  as  lightning  from  heaven,  it  be- 
came a  psychological  and  moral  monstrosity,  whose 
supreme  delight  seems  to  be  to  torment  mankind. 

In  early  childhood  its  fair  and  radiant  features  were 
suggestive  of  angelic  innocence  and  beauty,  but  in 
perverse  old  age,  suggestive  of  the  guilt  and  moral 
deformity  of  diabolos.  It  is  not  a  deity,  nor  is  it  un- 
conditioned, but  the  conditions  given,  it  is  omnipo- 
tent in  its  own  sphere  of  action.  Like  Tantalus,  its 
delight  seems  to  be  to  tantalize  those  in  its  power. 
Like  the  adder  it  is  armed  with  a  remorseful  sting, 
whose  virus  is  a  living  death. 

It  is  the  high  prerogative  of  every  rational  creature 
3 


34  What  Is  It? 

to  choose  between  these  two  antithetical  correlatives — 
one  or  the  other  is  inevitable  to  all — one  is  the  high- 
est attainable  good,  the  other  the  prince  of  subjective 
evils. 

I  sincerely  hope  that  you,  young  gentlemen,  will 
all  carry  away  from  3'our  Alma  Mater,  and  sedulously 
foster  with  scrupulous  care  through  all  the  conflicts 
of  long  and  prosperous  lives,  this  priceless  jewel — a 
GOOD  CONSCIENCE,  and  never  writhe  under  the  scor- 
pion-like stings  of  a  bad  conscience.* 

*A11  the  statements  in  this  paper,  it  is  believed,  are  in  har- 
mony with  the  true  theory  of  conscience,  but  some  of  them 
are  in  conflict  with  the  popular  theory.  Some  of  the  terms, 
however,  require  to  be  taken  in  a  tropical  sense. 


MORALITY  OF  THE  ANCIENT  ROMANS. 


By  \v.  d,  McLaughlin,  a.m., 

Professor  of  Latin  aud  Greek. 

We  have  before  us  this  evening  the  morality  of  the 
Romans  at  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity. This  subject  could  be  treated  as  an  ancient 
Irish  worthy  once  treated  the  subject:  "Snakes  in 
Ireland."  After  several  weeks  of  careful,  patient, 
and  laborious  investigation,  he  finally  expressed  the 
whole  body  of  his  essay  in  language  about  as  concise 
as  his  subject,  to  wit:  "In  Ireland  there  are  no 
snakes."  So  we  can  say  in  general  terms,  at  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  the  Romans  had  no 
morality. 

As  we  are  to  deal  with  the  Roman  Empire  during 
the  time  of  its  decadence,  it  may  not  be  unprohtable 
to  consider  the  main  cause  of  its  downfall  and  the 
downfall  of  other  nations.  I  am  well  aware  that  I 
am  treading  upon  ground  traversed  by  sages,  philos- 
ophers, historians,  statesmen,  and  poets,  as  Avell  as 
seniors,  sophomores,  sub-freshmen,  and  almost  all 
who  can  read  and  write. 

In  Jewish  history,  both  national  and  individual,  we 
find  that  obedience  to  the  divine  law  insured  success, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  disobedience  thereto  was 
followed  b}'^  misfortune.  The  rewards  and  punish* 
ments,  however,  were  not  ahvaj'S  contemporaneous 
with  the  acts  themselves.     The  flood  was   sent  by 

(35) 


36        Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans. 

reason  of  the  wickedness  of  the  world,  Noah  was 
preserved  because  he  "  was  a  just  man."  Faithful 
Abraham  became  involved  in  trouble  by  telling  the 
truth,  though  not  the  whole  truth,  his  purpose  being 
to  deceive  only  just  'a  little.  Moses,  the  servant 
of  the  Lord,  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  promised 
land,  the  divine  voice  proclaiming  the  reason:  "Be- 
cause ye  trespassed  against  me  among  the  children 
of  Israel  at  the  waters  of  Meribah-Kadesh  in  the 
wilderness  of  Zin ;  because  ye  sanctified  me  not  in 
the  midst  of  the  children  of  Israel." 

Joshua  was  successful  ^at  Jericho,  but  by  reason 
of  Achan's  transgression,  the  Israelites  under  him 
were  defeated  at  Ai.  They  were  made  servants  of 
the  king  of  Mesopotamia  for  eight  years,  because, 
by  communion  with  the  neighboring  tribes,  they 
descended  to  idol  worship.  The  Philistines  sorely 
defeated  them  once  because  of  the  laxity  of  mor- 
als on  the  part  of  the  high-priest,  and  of  general 
dereliction  of  duty  on  the  part  of  the  people. 
David's  succe.sses  and  reverses,  both  as  individual  and 
king,  are  measured  by  his  virtues  and  vices.  The 
subsequent  history  of  the  Jewish  kings  and  people 
follows  precisely  the  same  rules. 

In  view  of  these  facts  we  can  appreciate  Solomon's 
maxim :  "  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  but  sin 
is  a  reproach  to  any  people."  Now  is  this  true  of  all 
nations?  I  answer,  with  some  emphasis,  that  it  is 
true  not  only  of  people  collectively  but  of  individ- 
uals. Righteousness  or  upright  conduct  is  con- 
formity to  divine  law,  and  sin  or  immoral  conduct 
and  immoral  habits  carry  in  themselves  the  seed 
of  destruction.  «  As  poisonous  substances  received 
into  man's  physical  system  impair  and  destroj^  so, 


MORAI.ITY   OF   THE   AxCIENT    ROMANS.  37 

just  as  sure]}-,  do  immoral  habits  and  thoughts  impair 
and  destroy  the  moral  man.  It  requires  no  logic  to 
prove  this;  we  see  it  taking  place  around  us — and 
perhaps  within  us — every  day.  The  man  who  steals 
or  lies  or  contravenes  any  of  the  laws  of  moral 
conduct,  impairs  his  moral  powers,  just  as  a  stab 
from  a  dagger  would  injure  him  physically.  It  re- 
quires, therefore,  no  special  act  of  Providence  to 
consummate  the  destruction  of  a  people  or  individ- 
uals after  basely  immoral  habits  have  entered.  After 
the  commission  of  great  sins  we  look  for  the  smoke 
and  fire  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  But  let  us  remem- 
ber that  sin  is  itself  a  destroyer,  that  the  wages 
of  sin  is  death — slow  death  as  well  as  speedy  death — 
and  that  retrogression  as  surely  follows  it  as  effect 
follows  cause.  You  will  find  that  the  cause  of  the 
downfall  of  nations  as  given  in  biblical  history  finds 
its  solution  in  accordance  with  this  general  law, 
namely,  that  morality  builds  up  and  immorality 
destroys. 

Now  there  are  two  elements  that  enter  as  factors 
into  every  civilization.  These  factors  are  intellect- 
uality and  morality.  The  intellectual  forces  are 
radical  —  tending  to  subvert  the  established  order 
of  things,  while  the  moral  forces  are  conservative. 
A  declination  in  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
will  be  followed  by  a  corresponding  declination  in 
the  general  product.  The  two  when  developed  si- 
multaneously and  kept  in  a  sort  of  harmonious 
equipoise  will  produce  the  highest  order  of  civiliza- 
tion. I  know  it  is  usual  to  ascribe  to  genius,  knowl- 
edge, science,  diplomacy,  and  the  like,  the  glory  of 
successful  revolutions,  while  the  moral  forces  con- 
nected  therewith   are,    in    part,    or   wholly   ignored. 


38  MORAI^ITY   OF   THE    AnCIENT   RoMANS. 

We  are  all  read)'  to  laud  to  the  skies  the  astute 
diplomacy  of  a  Bismarck  or  Beaconsfield,  to  extol  the 
scientific  discoveries  of  a  Tyndall  or  Huxley,  and  to 
magnify  the  skill  and  knowledge  that  have  produced 
such  beneficent  results  in  the  political,  scientific,  and 
industrial  world,  but  we  forget  that  silent  conserva- 
tive force  without  which  the  utilization  of  these 
products  of  mind  would  be  hopelessly  paralyzed. 
The  strongest  support  of  individual,  social,  or 
national  character  is  morality.  And  the  highest  type 
of  morality  is  that  which  follbws  closest  in  the  wake 
of  Christianity.  No  device  of  mind,  or  shrewdness 
of  intellect,  or  brilliancy  of  genius  can  supply  its 
place.  It  is,  most  emphatically,  a  sine  qua  non  to 
every  enterprise  or  institution  that  has  worthy  ends 
and  permanence  of  existence  in  view. 

There  is  prevalent,  a  vague  and  loose  idea  about 
sin,  that  it  is  a  convenient  term  used  principally  by 
preachers  to  scare  people  with;  that  it  is  applicable 
almost  solely  to  outrageous  acts,  such  as  murder, 
arson,  and  the  like,  and,  if  connected  at  all  \yith  little 
misdoings,  the  effects  of  it  somehow  or  other  can  be 
dodged.  A  little  advantage  taken  in  a  horse  swap 
is  only  an  indication  of  superiority  of  wit,  a  little  too 
much  toddy  is  simply  a  mistake  of  judgment.  No 
penalty  attaches  to  such  little  things.  That  is  to  say, 
if  I  cut  my  finger  just  a  little"  or  pull  only  a  few 
hairs  out  of  my  head  there  will  be  no  pain.  Now 
when  it  is  understood  that  natural  and  revealed  or 
moral  laws  are  equally  divine  in  that  they  have  the 
same  Author,  and  are  equally  imperative  in  their 
several  fields  of  operation,  then  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  willful  misrepresentation  of  a  fact,  or  the  harbor- 
ing of  an  impure  thought  will  make  a~  moral  cripple, 


Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans.         39 

just  as  a  leap  from  a  two-story  window  will  make  a 
physical  cripple.  Sin  is  nothing  more  than  want 
of  conformity  to  law,  and  its  penalties  are  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  the  natural  results  that  flow 
therefrom.  If  you  can  dodge  or  thwart  the  pain  or 
inconveniences  that  result  from  a  dislocated  member, 
you  may  indulge  in  immorality  with  impunity. 

What  is  true  of  individual  life  is  true  also  of 
national  life,  the  latter  being  only  the  sum  total  of  the 
former,  and  consequently  all  national  growth  or 
degeneration  are  simply  the  index  of  the  individual 
status.  And  I  am  not  so  sure  but  that  the  Sunday- 
school  superintendant  and  the  preacher  are  our  best 
statesmen  after  all. 

France  once  tried  the  experiment  of  enthroning 
reason  to  the  exclusion  of  virtue,  and  with  what 
disastrous  results  you  are  all  doubtless  familiar. 
The  intellectual  vigor  of  Demosthenes  and  his  com- 
patriots could  not  rescue  their  beloved  Athens  from 
downfall,  when,  to  use  his  own  expression,  the  whole 
country  was  full  of  traitors  and  men  that  were  the 
enemies  of  the  gods  and  their  fellow-men-  And  it 
is  a  significant  fact  that  Rome  was  hurrying  to  ruin 
with  accelerated  momentum  at  the  time  of  her  great- 
est intellectual  splendor.  It  was  the  halo  that  was 
shed  around  her  by  such  historians  as  Livy  and 
Tacitus,  by  such  poets  as  Horace  and  Virgil,  by  such 
philosophers  as  Paetea  and  Seneca,  that  makes  her 
grand  even  in  her  dissolution. 

You  may  take  our  own  country,  which  is  in  the 
van  of  civilization,  with  all  her  improved  means 
of  travel  and  communication,  with  her  labor-saving 
machines  of  all  kinds,  with  all  her  conveniences  and 
luxuries  of -physical  and  intellectual  life;  and  then 


40        Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans. 

suppose  every  man  devoid  of  principle  and  a  corres- 
ponding degradation  on  the  part  of  women,  and 
convert  our  churches  into  drinking  saloons,  our  intel- 
lectual vigor  remaining  the  same,  and  it  is  easy  to 
see  that  the  wheels  of  progress  would  be  immedi- 
ately reversed,  and  that  our  greatness  would  not  last 
a  decade. 

I  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  on  this  part 
of  the  subject  because  the  3'ouug  gentlemen  of  the 
University  are  all  more  or  less  interested  in  the 
subject  of  History,  and  are  doubtless  so  captivated  by 
the  brilliant  thoughts  and  deeds  of  great  men  in 
great  revolutions^  that  they  are  in  danger  of  quite 
forgetting  that  silent  underlj-ing  principle  so  tersely 
expressed  by  the  wise  man,  "  Righteousness  exalteth 
a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people." 

A  brief  summary  of  Roman  Histor}-,  authentic  and 
legendary,  is  about  as  follows :  Romulus  sometime 
in  the  past,  say  eight  hundred  years  B.C.,  was  ordered 
to  be  drowned,  but  the  Fates  preserving  him,  he  was 
nurtured  by  a  wolf,  or  by  a  woman  named  Wolf  As 
he  grew  iip  and  a  restless  ambition  began  to  betray  the 
royal  blood  in  his  veins,  he  led  a  band  of  adventur- 
ers to  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  and  there  founded  a  city. 
He  fortified  his  town  with  walls.  His  twin  brother, 
Remus,  who  had  some  fun  in  him  as  well  as  royal 
blood,  jumped  over  the  walls  in  mockery.  Romulus 
killed  him.  After  suitable  police  regulations  had 
been  established,  and  a  legislative  body  composed 
of  one  hundred  senators  had  been  appointed,  it 
occurred  to  Romulus  and  his  band,  as  there  were 
none  of  the  opposite  sex  in  their  new  city,  that  it  was 
not  good  for  man  to  be  alone.  So  he  sent  embassies 
among  the  neighboring  tribes  to  ask  permission  for 


Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans.        41 

the  Roman  youths  to  call  on  their  daughters  with  a 
view  to  marriage.  The  ambassadors,  as  the  historian 
states,  were  nowhere  kindly  received,  but  they  were 
met  with  the  universal  response  that  no  young  men, 
until  they  had  established  a  character,  could  call 
on  their  daughters.  It  is  stated  that  Romulus  was 
very  despondent  on  the  receipt  of  this  news,  and,  I 
presume,  the  j'oung  men  were  too.  Determined  not 
to  be  foiled  in  a  matter  of  such  vital  importance,  and 
being  pretty  well  acquainted  with  human  nature, 
he  got  up  a  big  show — a  circus — and  had  posters  sent 
out  for  many  miles  around.  On  the  appointed  day — 
sure  enough — here  they  came  in  -great  crowds,  big, 
little,  old  and  young,  and  among  them  a  great  many 
pretty  Sabine  girls.  It  thus  incidentally  appears  that 
in  those  days  the  girls  were  fond  of  going  to  circuses. 
The  signal  being  given,  says  the  historian,  the 
Roman  j-ouths  each  seized  a  girl — stole  her.  Xow 
that  was  a  verj'  wicked  procedure,  but  all  will  admit 
that  there  were  some  mitigating  circumstances  con- 
nected with  it.  It  is  a  warning,  however,  to  girls  not 
to  go  to  circuses.  I  will  also  add  that  this  custom 
of  stealing  virgins  instituted  by  the  old  Romans 
has  not  been  wholly  abandoned  up  to  this  good  day. 

How  much  truth  there  is  in  this  legendary  narra- 
tive concerning  the  origin  of  Rome  and  of  her  social 
and  civil  polit}'  is  not  known.  The  traditional  state- 
ments have  too  much  the  air  of  fiction  to  justify  any 
reliable  conclusions  as  to  the  morality  of  the  times. 
The  whole  story  as  given  by  the  ancient  historian 
sounds  ver}^  much  like  the  Mother  Goose  stories 
of  the  present  day.  The,  histor}-  of  Romulus  was 
doubtless  told  by  nurses  and  grandmothers  to  amuse 
the  children. 


42  MORAI,ITY   OF   THE   AnCIENT    ROMANS. 

The  regal  government  remained  for  nearly  two 
hundred  jears,  but  was  abolished  on  account  of  the 
wickedness  of  Tarquinius  Superbus.  Then  followed 
the  consular  government  of  about  five  hundred  years' 
duration,  interrupted  once  by  the  decemviral  govern- 
ment and  by  two  triumvirates,  the  last  of  which  re- 
sulted in  Augustus  Caesar  being  proclaimed  Emperor. 
As  an  evidence  of  the  rigid  morality  of  the  Romans 
during  this  whole  time,  up  to  at  least  the  time  of 
Marius,  we  are  told  that  no  enterprise  of  a  public  nat- 
ure, whether  in  peace  or  war,  was  undertaken  with- 
out first  consulting  the  auspices.  If  the  omens  were 
favorable,  the  enterprise  was  undertaken  ;  if  unfavor- 
able, it  was  deferred.  We  would  call  this  superstition, 
but  it  shows  a  religious  feeling,  a  recognition  of  a 
power  superior  to  themselves,  to  which  they  gave 
reverential  obedience.  The  family  life  was  sacred, 
and  for  over  five  hundred  years  divorce  was  unknown 
among  them. 

Whatever  else  ma)'  be  said  to  have  contributed  in 
these  early  days  to  the  strength  of  Rome,  it  can  not 
be  denied  that  the  peculiar  organization  and  discipline 
of  the  family  were  valuable  promoters  of  it."  The 
father  of  a  family,  or  pater  familias,  was  absolute  king 
of  the  household  as  long  as  he  lived.  There  was  no 
"sweet  ane-and-twenty  for  the  Roman  Tam."  The 
grown-up  son  might  establis^i  a  separate  household, 
but  in  law  all  that  the  son  acquired,  whether  in  his 
father's  household  or  his  own,  remained  the  father's 
property.  In  relation  to  the  father,  all  in  the  house- 
hold were  devoid  of  legal  rights,  wife  and  children 
included.  In  the  worst  cases  of  abuse,  religion,  it  is 
true,,  pronounced  its  anathemas;  but  the  gods  are 
slow,  as  lictors  or  constables,  to  execute  the  judgments 


Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans.        43 

of  men.  This  power  of  the  husband  and  father, 
though  doubtless  often  repressive  of  the  pleasures  of 
the  women  and  children,  yet  assured  to  the  children  a 
wise  guardianship  up  to  an  average  of  forty  years.  If 
the  child  is  trained  for  that  period  of  time  in  the  way 
in  which  he  should  go,  he  will  not  be  very  apt  to  de- 
part therefrom  in  his  after  years.  If  the  parental 
authority  now  were  a  little  more  rigorously  adminis- 
tered and  continued  a  little  longer,  I  believe  a  better 
citizenship  would  be  insured. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  the  Roman 
father  was  a  tyrant,  for  "the  moral  obligations  of  par- 
ents toward  their  children  were  deeply  felt  by  the 
Roman  nation ; "  and  it  was  reckoned  a  heinous  offense 
if  a  father  neglected  or  corrupted  his  child,  or  if  he 
even  squandered  his  property  to  his  child's  detriment. 

It  was  here  in  the  family  that  the  Roman  j'outh 
learned  and  practiced  that  obedience  to  authority 
which  trained  him  to  respect  those  in  power,  and  rev- 
erence the  laws,  and  made  him  well-nigh  invincible  on 
the  field  of  battle.  There  was  no  theme  more  delight- 
ful to  the  later  Roman  writers  than  the  rigid  morality 
of  their  forefathers  and  the  dutiful  obedience  of  their 
children. 

At  the  accession  of  Tiberius  to  the  imperial  throne, 
in  the  3'ear  of  the  Christian  era  14,  the  Roman  em- 
pire embraced  nearly  all  Europe,  all  of  the  then 
known  Africa,  including  Carthage  and  Egypt,  and 
Asia  as  far  as  the  Euphrates.  It  contained  not  less 
than  one  hundred  million  inhabitants,  of  whom  not 
less  than  sixtj'  millions  were  slaves.  Cicero  informs 
us  that  of  the  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants of  the  city  of  Rome,  in  his  daj^  there  were 
not  more  than  two  thousand  proprietors. 


44        Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans. 

At  the  lowest  extreme  of  the  social  scale  were  the 
slaves,  without  family,  without  religion,  without  pos- 
sessions, without  any  recognized  rights,  passing  from 
a  childhood  of  degradation  to  unpitied  neglect- in  old 
age.  Many  eminent  senators  advocated  the  brutal 
law  that  when  a  master  was  murdered  his  slaves,  how- 
ever numerous,  should  be  put  to  death.  Only  a  little 
above  the  slaves  were  the  lovv-er  classes  who  formed 
the  vast  majority  of  the  free-born  inhabitants  of  the 
Roman  empire.  They  were,  for  the  most  part,  beggars 
and  idlers.  Despising  honest  labor,  the}'  asked  only 
for  bread  and  the  games  of  the  circus,  and  were  ready 
to  support  any  government  that  would  furnish  them 
these.  They,  were  delighted  with  the  polluted  plays 
of  the  theater  and  the  ghastly  scenes  of  the  arena, 
where  criminals  and  slaves  were  compelled  to  fight 
with  wild  beasts.  "  Their  life,  as  described  by  their 
contemporaries,  was  made  up  of  squalor,  misery,  and 
vice." 

Immeasurably  removed  from  these  were  the  con- 
stantly diminishing  crowds  of  the  wealthy  and  the 
noble.  "Every  age,  in  its  decline,"  says  a  writer, 
"has  exhibited  the  spectacle  of  selfish  luxury  side  by 
side  with  abject  poverty,  but  nowhere  were  these  con- 
trasts so  startling  as  they  were  in  imperial  Rome." 
The  great  majority  might  be  on  the  point  of  starva- 
tion while  the  rich  were  spending  a  fortune  at  a  single 
banquet.  Many  of  the  free-born  were  so  poor  that 
they  could  afford  only  one  garment  even  in  winter. 
Pliny  tells  us  that  he  saw  Paulina  dressed  for  a  be- 
trothal feast  in  a  robe  Avhich  cost,  in  our  money, 
•  two  million  dollafs.  Debauchery,  gluttony,  and  ex- 
travagance rioted  in  the  heart  of  a  society  which 
had  no  higher  aspirations  than  the  gratification   of 


Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans.        45 

the  animal  propensities.     A  poet  has  thus  summed 
up  the  life  of  a  Roman  noble : 

"  On  that  hard  pagan  world  disgust 

And  secret  loathing  fell; 
Deep  weariness  and  sated  lust 

Made  human  life  a  hell. 
In  his  cool  hall,  with  haggard  eyes, 

The  Roman  noble  lay, 
He  drove  abroad  in  furious  guise 

Along  the  Appian  Way ; 
He  made  a  feast,  drank  fierce  and  fast, 

And  crowned  his  head  with  flowers — 
No  easier  nor  no  quicker  passed 

The  impracticable  hours." 

At  the  summit  of  this  rotten  social  system  stood 
the  Emperor,  who,  in  most  cases,  was  king  in  vice  as 
well  as  king  of  men.  He  had  absorbed  all  the  powers 
and  functions  of  government.  The  Senate,  it  is  true, 
still  held  its  sessions,  but  their  decrees  were  always  in 
conformity  with  the  will  of  the  Emperor.  As  Gibbon 
very  justly  observes,  he  was  at  once  priest,  atheist, 
and  god. 

Among  the  first  acts  of  Tiberius,  in  whose  reign 
Christ  was  crucified,  was  to  have  murdered  all  whose 
talents  would  fit  them  for  imperial  honors,  or  whose 
aspirations  seemed  to  be  in  that  direction.  By  the  law 
of  high  treason,  not  merely  actions,  but  words,  looks, 
and  gestures  were  construed  as  ofienses  against  the 
majest}^  of  the  prince.  The  suspected  were  presumed 
to  be  guilty,  judges  were  found  to  condemn  them,  and 
soon  followed  confiscations  and  executions.  He  was 
a  man  of  reseni-ed  character,  of  great  dissimulation, 
suspicious,  revengeful,  and  confiding  in  no  one  except 
his  prime  minister,  Sejanus,  who  was  equally  aban- 
doned in  character  as  himself.     Sejanus  at  length  fell 


46        Morality  of  the  Ancient  Romans. 

under  his  suspicion,  and  he  and  all  his  friends  and  rel- 
atives were  massacred.  Tiberius,  after  a  long  career 
of  crime,  was  smothered  at  the  instigation  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Caligula. 

Caligvila  ascended  the  throne  A.D.  37.  Not  content 
with  murder,  he  ordered  all  the  prisoners  in  Rome 
and  numbers  of  tlie  aged  and  infirm  to  be  thrown  to 
wild  beasts.  He  claimed  divine  honors,  erected  a 
temple,  and  instituted  a  college  of  priests  to  superin- 
tend his  own  worship.  For  his  favorite  horse,  In- 
citatus,  he  built  a  stable  of  marble  and  a  manger  of 
ivory,  and  frequentl}^  invited  him  to  the  imperial  table. 
In  derision  of  republican  government,  he  conferred 
upon  this  horse  the  honors  of  consulship,  and  in 
mockery  of  religion  he  appointed  him  high-priest. 
After  a  four  years'  reign  he  was  murdered  by  his  own 
guards. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  imbecile  Claudius.  Though 
deficient  in  judgment  Claudius  was  not  destitute  of 
good  nature,  and  he  was  impelled  to  the  commission 
of  many  crimes  by  his  abandoned  favorites.  His  dis- 
solute wife,  Messalina,  ruled  him  at  pleasure,  but  she 
was  finally  put  to  death  by  the  Emperor  for  her 
shameless  crimes.  He  then  married  his  niece,  Agrip- 
pina,  the  infamous  mother  of  the  infamous  Nero,  who 
caused  him  to  be  poisoned  by  his  physician. 

Next  came  Nero,  in  whose  reign  St.  Paul  came  to 
Rome,  at  which  time  we  may  reckon  the  introduction 
of  Christianity.  To  rehearse  even  a  few  of  the  crimes 
of  this  monster  would  be  sickening.  I  will  mention 
only  one.  In  the  year  A.D.  64,  one  year  after  St. 
Paul's  arrival,  there  was  a  great  conflagration  in  Rome 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  city  was  destroyed.  Sus- 
picion had  fastened  on  Nero  as  the  author.    Historians 


MORAI.ITY   OF   THE    AnCIENT   RoMAXS.  47 

are  divided  as  to  the  justness  of  the  suspicion.  At 
any  rate,  to  remove  it  from  himself,  he  charged  the 
Christians  as  being  the  incendiaries  and  had  them 
slaughtered  indiscriminate!}'.  Tacitus,  who  was  an 
inveterate  hater  of  the  Christians,  thus  describes  the 
massacre : 

"Various  forms  of  mocker\'  were  added  to  enhance 
their  dying  agonies.  Covered  with  the  skins  of  wild 
beasts,  they  were  doomed  to  die  by  the  mangling  of 
dogs,  or  by  being  nailed  to  crosses,  or  to  be  set  on  fire 
and  burnt — after  twilight,  by  way  of  nightly  illumina- 
tion. Nero  offered  his  own  gardens  for  this  show,  and 
gave  a  chariot  race,  mingling  with  the  mob  in  the 
dress  of  a  charioteer,  or  actually  driving  about  among 
them." 

Surely,  "  When  the  righteous  are  in  authority  the 
people  rejoice;  but  when  the  wicked  beareth  rule  the 
people  mourn." 

In  justice  to  Nero  it  should  be  said  that  he  was  held 
in  great  esteem  by  the  boys — the  ignobile  vulgus.  He 
did  many  things  to  the  detriment  of  the  better  class 
for  their  gratification.  That  his  tomb  was  decked  for 
many  years  with  spring  and  summer  flowers  is  evi- 
dence that  he  lived  in  the  hearts  of  some  of  his  coun- 
trymen. 

Thus  far  I  have  said  nothing  of  the  part  that  the 
women  plaj'ed  in  this  polluting  and  polluted  drama. 
It  is  best,  if  you  can  not  say  something  good  of  the 
fair  sex,  to  say  nothing  at  all.  I  will  follow  this  rule, 
save  to  add  one  .statement  of  a  contemporary  writer, 
and  that  is  that  women  married  in  order  to  be  di- 
vorced and  were  divorced  in  order  to  marry,  and  that 
noble  Roman  matrons  counted  the  years  not  b}'  the 
consuls,  but  by  their  discarded  or  discarding  husbands. 


48         MoR^vLiTY  OF  the;  Ancient  Romans. 

On  this  vast  moral  waste  of  misery,  squalor,  pov- 
erty, voluptuousness,  debauchery,  envy,  and  murder, 
there  were,  it  is  true,  some  just  persons.  The  image 
of  Justice  was  still  left,  but  the  goddess  herself  had 
taken  wings  and  flown  away.  A  few  Burrhuses  and 
Senecas  were  still  striving  for  the  pristine  virtue  and 
morality  of  their  forefathers,  bu^  the  tide  of  evil  was 
so  great  that  they  were  overwhelmed  and  finally  killed. 

The  outlook  for  the  human  family  at  this  time  was 
peculiarly  gloomy.  Rome  had  hitherto  been  the  con- 
servator and  promoter  of  a  measurably  healthy  civ- 
ilization, but  had  by  her  vices  lost  that  prerogative, 
and,  what  was  more  lamentable,  there  appeared  no 
people  upon  the  whole  face  of  the  earth  of  sufficient 
moral  worth  to  whom  this  charge  could  be  intrusted. 
Athens,  with  her  broadly  liberal  republicanism,  and 
with  her  philosophy  almost  divine,  could  not  rescue 
her  people  from  ruin  occasioned  by  their  vices,  and 
Rome,  with  her  strongly  centralized  government  and 
her  admirable  system  of  laws,  had  made  a  most  signal 
failure  in  the  same  direction.  The  Spaniards  and  the 
Celts  of  Gaul,  as  dependents  of  Rome,  had  become 
involved  in  her  degeneration.  The  old  monarchies  of 
Egypt,  Persia,  and  Babylon  had  long  ago  lost  their 
.civilizing  power  and  intellectual  hegemony.  Our  fore- 
fathers in  Northern  Europe  had  not  yet  attained  that 
condition  that  could  be  called  civilization  even. 

But  man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity.  "The 
fullness  of  time"  had  come  and  Christ  was  born,  upon 
whom  all  healthy  civilizations  in  the  future  were  to  be 
founded,  and  his  distinctive  appellation  was  Jesus: 
"  For  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins." 


A(Uw/?Efiej|LlNDSLE(UJl 


SOME  TYPES  OF  CIVILIZATION. 


By  R.  V.  FOSTER, 
Professor  of  Hebrew  and  New  Testament  Greek. 

What  is  civilization  ?  Like  many  other  questions, 
this  one  also  has  been  variously  answered.  Civiliza- 
tion has  been  taken  to  be  merely  the  multiplication 
of  artificial  wants  and  of  the  means  and  refinements 
of  physical  enjoyments.  In  this  sense  it  is  an  evil 
rather  than  a  good,  and  is  scarcely  preferable  to  bar- 
barism. It  has  been  taken  also  to  signify  both  a  state 
of  physical  well-being  and  a  state  of  superior  intel- 
lectual and  moral  culture.  That  is  better,  and  is  more 
coincident  with  the  sense  in  which  I  shall  use  the  term 
on  this  occasion.  You  see  that  it  is  a  relative  term, 
its  antithesis  being  barbarism;  and,  as  there  have  al- 
ways been  degrees  of  barbarism,  so  there  have  always 
been  degrees  of  civilization,  the  lowest  degree  of  the 
latter  being  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
highest  degree  of  the  former.  The  one  shades  off  by 
imperceptible  gradations  into  the  other,  so  that  no 
man  can  tell  exactly  where  the  one  begins  and  the 
other  ends. 

Various  tests  have  been  employed.  The  Greek  used 
a  literary,  or,  perhaps  more  strictl)',  a  linguistic  test. 
He  was  proud  of  his  language,  and  indeed  it  was 
something  to  be  proud  of  He  it  was  who  invented 
the  word  "barbarian,"  which  I  have  said  is  the  an- 
tithesis  of  "civilized."     With   hira    every  man  who 

(49) 


50  Some;  Types  of  Civilization. 

could  not  use  the  Greek  language  with  facility  was  a 
barbarian ;  or,  in  other  terms,  he  was  a  stammerer, 
one  who  could  not  half  talk,  as  the  word  is  said  by 
some  literally  to  mean.  But  you  could  not  adopt  such 
a  test,  for  the  sublime  egotism  of  the  Greek  is  no 
longer  regarded  as  the  polite  and  proper  thing.  The 
German  has  just  as  good  a  right  to  affirm  that  his 
language  is  the  only  classical  one  as  the  Englishman 
has  to  affirm  it  of  the  English,  and  he  has  as  much 
ability  to  make  good  his  claim.  And  if  you  should 
venture  to  call  every  Englishman  or  American  a  bar- 
barian who  introduces  barbarisms  into  his  use  of  the 
English  language  you  would  diminish  th^  ranks  of 
the  civilized  quite  rapidly. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Roman's  test  was  a  social 
one.     If  a  man  or  a  people  were  not  Roman  citizens  * 
either  by  birth  or  by  adoption  they  were  not  civilized ; 
the}^  were  barbarians.     At  least  this  was  the  general 
test. 

With  the  Hebrew  the  test  was  a  religious  or  eccle- 
siastical one.  Whoever  did  not  belong  to  the  theoc- 
racy was  a  Gentile,  and  "Gentile"  and  "heathen" 
were  with  him  s5-nonyms.  This  test  has  not  entirely 
disappeared,  as  you  are  very  apt,  some  of  you,  to  rate 
him  highest  who  is  a  member  of  your  own  church, 
and  we  are  still  more  liable  to  call  a  Japanese  or  China- 
man a  barbarian  merely  because  his  religion  is  not 
ours;  or  the  Mohammedan,  merely  because  he  is  a 
Mohammedan,  though  there  is  truly  a  pre-eminent 
Christian  civilization. 

The  religion  of  a  people  does  have  a  marked  influ- 
ence on  the  civilization  of  that  people,  but  I  am  not 
aware  that  the  religion  inculcated  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment has  a  more  marked  influence  on  modern  civiliza- 


Some  Types  of  Civilization.  51 

tion  than  the  same  religion  as  presented  in  the  Old 
Testament  was  intended  to  have  upon  the  ancient 
civilization.  The  chief  difference  in  the  two  cases 
arises,  I  apprehend,  from  the  fact  that  the  church  of 
the  New  Testament  dispensation  understands  and  ex- 
ecutes its  mission  better  than  the  church  of  the  Old 
understood  and  executed  its  mission.  On  this  point  I 
may  add  that  some  members  of  the  present  church 
who  disbelieve  in  foreign  missions  would  have  been 
more  at  home  and  more  congeniall}^  associated  had 
they  been  born  twenty-five  hundred  years  ago  and 
held  their  membership  in  some  pre-Christian  He- 
brew synagogue.  The  Hebrew  civilization  derived  a 
marked  characteristic  from  the  fact  that  the  Hebrew 
thought  no  man  had  any  share  in  or  right  to  the  Mes- 
sianic privileges  except  himself.  The  Hebrews  were 
orientals,  and  the  characteristic  of  their  civilization 
just  alluded  to  was  not  altogether  peculiar  to  them. 
The  Chinese  call  themselves  the  Celestials  to  this 
day,  and  you  all  know  how  impenetrable  to  foreign 
intrusion  the  Chinese  empire  has  always  been  until 
comparatively  a  recent  period.  The  Japanese  civil- 
ization has  always  been  equally  exclusive  until  still 
more  recently,  and  the  Corean  also. 

I  mentioned  the  Greek  civilization  just  now  and 
said  that  one  of  its  characteristics  was  exclusiveness. 
But  I  may  add  that  this  exclusiveness  was  not  based 
altogether  on  literary  and  aesthetic  culture.  It  was 
doubtless  based  to  some  extent  on  the  Grgek  doctrine 
of  autoQtliony.  Some  of  you  are  doubtless  aware  that 
the  Greeks  did  not  believe  in  the  unity  of  the  human 
race.  The  Greek,  and  the  Greek  alone,  was  made  out 
of  Greek  dust,  which,  in  his  estimation,  was  much 
better  soil  than  that  out  of  which  anj^  body  else  was 


52  SoMK  Types  of  Civilization. 

made.  The  national  and  intense  assertion  of  this 
doctrine  gave  more  or  less  character  to  the  Greek  civ- 
ilization; and  we  may  be  sure  that  the  Athenians 
pricked  up  their  ears  and  turned  up  their  noses  when 
Paul,  in  his  address  before  them,*  stated  that  God  had 
made  of  one  blood  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  It 
was  as  much  as  to  say  to  Paul :  You  need  not  try  to 
insinuate  yourself  into. our  favor  and  your  religion 
upon  our  notice  by  claiming  kin  with  us.  We  do  not 
know  you.  And  thereupon  they  got  up  and  walked 
out,  and  left  Paul  speaking  to  the  empty  benches.  It 
was  uncivil,  from  our  point  of  view,  in  the  Athenians 
to  treat  Paul  in  that  way,  but  it  was  just  like  them  to 
do  it,  especially  when  touched  upon  that  point.  You 
have  probably  met  with  a  few  people  in  your  day  who 
believed  that  they  were  made  out  of  better  earth  than 
the  rest  of  mankind,  though  they  are  not  sufficiently 
encouraged  in  the  belief  to  make  it  a  peculiarity  of 
our  civilization,  as  it  was  with  the  Greek.  But  I 
should  do  Greek  civilization  scant}^  justice  if  I  were 
to  fail  to  sa}^  that  its  military  genius  and  statesman- 
ship was  not  sufficiently  dominant  to  produce  a  dis- 
tinct type  of  civilization,  though  its  literary  and 
artistic  genius  was.  Greece  produced  no  statesman 
whose  wisdom  has  influenced  succeeding  ages.  We 
look  not  thither  for  law  and  clean-cut  exhibits  of 
man's  social  and  political  relations  and  duties  to  man. 
When  Greece  is  mentioned  we  think  not  of  govern- 
ment and  legislative  codes,  but  of  philosophers,  and 
poets,  and  sculptors,  and  painters.  These  are  the  dead 
though  sceptered  sovereigns  whose  spirits' from  their 
urns  .still  rule  us.  The  genius  of  Demosthenes,  the 
orator,  was  the  genius  of  an  artist  rather  than  of  a 
statesman ;  and  there  was  but  one  Pericles,  and  the 


Some  Types  of  Civilization. 


53 


glory  which  he  gave  to  Greece  was  not  a  typical  civ- 
ilization, but  the  flash  of  a  meteor.  But  the  philos- 
ophers and  artists  had  their  schools.  Rome  is  our  law 
school  and  our  military  academy.  As  he  who  would 
be  an  artist  or  a  philosopher  must  know  about  Prax- 
itilles  or  Plato,  so  he  who  would  be  distinguished  in 
war  or  law  must  know  about  Caesar  or  the  Twelve 
Tables. 

There  are  other  ancient  civilizations  which  recent 
research  has  brought  into  too  great  prominence  to 
justify  me  in  leaving  them  quite  unmentioned  here — 
the  Assyrian  or  Chaldean,  for  instance,  which  mani- 
fests itself  in  Assyrian  architecture  and  art,  and  in  the 
military,  domestic,  and  religious  affairs  of  kings  and 
people.  The  Assj-rians  were  not  barbarians — far  from 
it — though  as  to  whether  their  civilization  would  fall 
under  M.  Guizot's  first,  second,  third,  or  fourth  hy- 
pothesis it  is  impossible  to  say ;  possibly  neither.  In 
the  first  place,  there  was  society ;  and,  in  the  second 
place,  society  into  which  the  individual  was  not  wholly 
sunken.  But,  so  far  as  known  to  us,  its  ruling  idea 
was  military  conquest.  Abraham,  before  his  divine 
call,  was  a  representative  of  the  Accadian  phase  of 
this  civilization.  He  was  born  and  brought  up  in 
lower  Chaldea,  and  spent  the  first  seventy  years  of  his 
life  under  the  influence  of  the  elaborate  and  powerful 
system  of  idolatry  introduced  about  the  time  of  his 
birth  by  King  Sargon  I.  But  Abraham's  soul  re- 
mained "pure  as  a  white  lily  in  muddy  waters"  amid 
the  seductive  influences  which  won  over  even  Terah, 
his  father,  and  perhaps  all  his  brothers  and  kinsmen. 
Terah  was  not  only  an  idolater,  as  the  Scripture  in- 
forms us,  but,  as  Jewish  tradition  says,  his  business 
was  that  of  a  manufacturer  of  idols.     Abraham  re- 


54  Some  Types  of  Civii.ization. 

mained  faithful  to  the  God  of  Noah,  called  him  by  no 
new  name,  and  worshiped  him  not  under  the  form 
of  any  image. 

In  the  days  of  Abraham  the  Accadians  already  lived 
in  solid  houses  of  brick,  whose  walls  were  made  very 
thick  to  protect  the  inmates  from  the  southern  heat. 
The  windows  were  high  up  and  s-mall.  Trees  were 
planted  around  for  the  purpose  of  shade.  Hand-made 
pottery  of  many  kinds  abounded,  and  their  embroid- 
ered garments  and  tessellated  cushions  of  tapestry 
were  famous  far  from  home.  Sun-dials  marked  the 
hours  of  the  day,  which  had  already  been  divided  as 
we  now  have  them.  The  smith  and  the  jeweler  fur- 
nished field  and  camp  and  house  and  the  person  with 
a  long  list  of  implements,  weapons,  and  ornaments  in 
various  metals.  There  were  combs,  and  head-dresses, 
and  mirrors ;  and  music  on  guitars,  drums,  tambour- 
ines, harps,  etc.;  and  wine  cups  and  drunken  feasts, 
very  much  as  with  us;  and  large  trade  was  carried  on 
with  other  nations  in  blue  clothes  and  broidered  work, 
in  chests  of  rich  apparel,  and  ivory,  gems,  cedar,  and 
pearls.  Drainage  and  irrigation  converted  the  marshy 
flats  of  the  south  and  the  dry,  dusty  stretches  of  the 
north  country  into  gardens  of  exceeding  beaut}^  and 
richness,  and  the  palm-trees,  burdened  with  dates, 
grew  on  the  banks  of  the  streams  in  such  luxuriance  as 
to  render  the  people  unmindful  of  the  absence  of  fig, 
or  olive,  or  vine.  The  most  beautiful  of  trees — the 
palm — was  also  the  most  varied  in  usefulness.  Its 
fruit,  hanging  in  clusters  of  amber  or  gold,  is  at  once 
pleasant  to  the  eye,  delicious,  and  nourishing — the 
food  of  the  poor  and  the  luxury  of  the  rich.  The 
crushed  kernels  of  it  fed  the  goats  and  sheep,  and  the 
gashed  stem  or  trunk  yielded  a  drink  which  took  the 


Some  Types  of  Civilization.  55 

place  of  wine.  The  tuft  or  crown  which  grew  from 
the  top  and  the  inner  fiber  and  pith  were  boiled  for 
food.  Mats  and  baskets  were  made  from  the  leaves, 
while  the  trunk  furnished  pillars  for  houses,  and  roof- 
ing, and  furniture.  The  whole  district  in  Abraham's 
day  was  exceedingly  fertile  and  highly  cultivated; 
shady  with  palms,  tamarisks,  aifd  acacias,  rich  in 
pomegranates,  and  golden  with  fields  of  the  finest 
wheat.  Millet  and  sesame  grew  to  a  fabulous  height, 
and  all  kinds  of  corn  plants  produced  two  and  three 
hundred-fold.  Such  was  the  civilization  and  such  the 
enchanted  land  in  the  midst  of  which'  Abraham  spent 
the  .first  seventy  years  of  his  life,  and  which  at  the 
call  of  God  he  was  to  exchange  for  Canaan. 

Canaan — and  the  mention  of  that  name  reminds  me 
of  another  earlj^  civilization  of  which  I  should  be 
glad  to  speak  if  I  had  time — Canaan  was  the  land  of 
settled  population,  with  towns  and  governments  long 
antedating  Abraham's  day ;  a  land  of  corn  fields,  figs, 
vineyards,  and  fortresses;  a  land  of  which  an  authority 
earlier  than  the  patriarch  speaks  as  abounding  in  wine 
more  than  water ;  a  land  in  which  all  the  trees  were  . 
fruit-bearing,  and  that  yielded  barley  and  wheat,  and 
that  had  no  end  of  cattle ;  a  land  over  which  a  pro- 
found moral  corruption  had  already  spread  when  the 
patriarch  entered  it ;  where  human  sacrifices  marked 
the  worship  of  the  gods,  and  where  unnatural  sins  so 
abounded  as  to  receive  their  name  from  Sodom. 

I  say'  it  would  be  interesting  to  dwell  more  at 
length  on  this  early  civilization  and  the  neighboring 
Phoenician  and  Egyptian,  but  I  must  hasten  on  to  the 
final  and  the  chief  inquiry  of  this  lecture:  To  what. 
extent  does  Christianity  influence  civilization,  and 
what  is  the  character  of  that  influence?     This  leads 


56  Some  Types,  of  Civilization. 

me  to  remind  you  that  the  term  civilization  is  a  social 
term,  and  if  analyzed  would  be  equal  to  some  sort  of 
social  organization,  plus  certain  manners  and  customs. 
There  can  be  no  civilization  where  there  is  no  state 
or  government.  To  what  extent  does  Christianity  in- 
fluence social  organization,  and  manners,  and  cus- 
toms? That  it  does  do  so  every  body  admits,  as  is 
evident  in  the  universal  use  of  the  phrase  Christian 
civilization. 

Our  modern  European  civilization  (in  which  I 
include  the  North  American)  is  made  up,  we  may  say, 
of  ten  essential  elements.  Six  of  these  elements  are 
not  peculiar  to  it.  They  are  common  to  otlier  civili- 
zations, ancient  and  modern.  The  difference  between 
the  two  consists  in  part  at  least  in  the  other  four 
elements.  How  is  the  presence  of  these  four  ele- 
ments in  our  civilization  to  be  accounted  for?  They 
are  due  in  part  to  Christianity,  but  not  entirely. 
They  are  partly  attributable  to  the  very  genius  or 
spirit  of  the  Caucasian  races.  Christianity  could 
scarcely  make  an  Aryan  or  Indo-European  out  of  a 
Semite,  or  vice  versa.  It  was  not  intended  that  it 
should  do  so.  Our  civilization  for  instance  is  being 
influenced  largely  by  our  extensive  and  increasing 
railroad  systems.  But  Christianity  of  itself  could 
scarcely  have  taught  the  Semitic  and  Hamitic  peoples 
to  build  railroads.  The  Caucasian  races  are  charac- 
terized by  a  spirit  of  restless  enterprise  and  progress 
which  has  always  been  wanting  to  the  sons  of  Shem 
and  Ham,  and  consequently  the  civilization  of  the 
former  has  always  differed  from  that  of  the  latter, 
and  always  will,  until  race  distinctions  shall  have 
diappeared.  Western  Asia  had  the  gospel  either  in 
its  Old  or  New  Testament  forms  long  before  Europe 


Some  Types  of  Civilization.  57 

and  America,  and  so  far  they  had  greatly  the  advan- 
tage, but  it  is  true  that  Europe  and  America  have 
long  been  sending  the  gospel  and  a  better  civilization 
back  to  Western  Asia.  The  Asiatics  have  never  had 
the  power  that  the  sons  of  Japheth  have,  to  re- 
sist the  downward  tendency.  They  have  had  their 
city  builders  and  warrior  heroes,  but  they  have  fur- 
nished modern  times  but  little  to  talk  about  and 
write  about  except  ruins — no  science,  no  philosophy, 
no  literature,  no  law ;  and  though  they  were  the  first 
to  receive  the  gospel,  they  were  also  the  first  to  lose 
it.  To  the  sons  of  Japheth,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
has  passed  the  responsibility  and  the  honor  of  being 
the  world's  teacher.  Truly  they  are  dwelling  in  the 
tents  of  Shem.  If  I  fail  as  a  teacher  for  a  want 
of  intellect  or  will  power  or  disposition  oi-  acquire- 
ment, I  must  be  supplanted  by  another  and  more 
efficient  teacher.  The  world  must  be  educated. 
And  I  should  like  to  say  here,  at  least  in  parenthesis, 
that  when  we  as  a  government,  or  as  a  people,  cease 
to  fulfill  our  function  as  a  teacher  in  the  broad  and 
truest  sense  the  world  will  no  longer  have  an}'  use 
for  us,  and  ve  will  cease  to  be.  That,  I  think,  is 
certain.  There  is  a  vast  deal  more  than  mere  pro- 
fessional zeal  in  the  missionary  entreaties  of  such 
men  as  our  Dr.  Bell  and  our  Hails.  There  is  in  the 
matter  a  deep  philosophy,  and  if  you  will  not  miscon- 
strue my  use  of  the  term  I  will  also  sa}-  a  deep  divine 
decree.  It  is  an  entreaty  which  comes  not  merel}'  to 
our  church  or  to  any  church,  but  to  our  nation  and 
to  our  civilization,  and  woe  be  to  our  nation  and  to 
our  civilization  when  the  chief  end  of  our  national 
political  parties  shall  become  a  question  of  mere 
"  ins   and  outs  "—a    mere   question  of  personal  and 


58  SoMK  Types  of  Civilization. 

selfish  greed.  The  age  of  Ivouis  XIV.  was  the  most 
brilHant  age  in  French  history,  but  it  was  also  the 
age  in  which  the  least  amount  of  good  accrued  to  the 
people,  a  fact  which  the  king  mourned  in  his  last 
days.  But  here  and  now  the  people  make  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  people  make  the  civilization,  and  do 
not  let  us  forget  that  people  in  the  aggregate  have 
missions  to  fulfill  as  well  as  people  in  their  individual 
capacity.     Ours  is  an  educational  one. 

But  I  digress  too  far.  I  was  saying  that  one 
reason  why  the  Caucasian  civilization  differs  from 
some  ancient  and  modern  civilizations  lies  in  the 
very  genius  or  spirit  of  the  people.  Another  cause 
lies  in  geographical  and  climatic  influences.  The 
civilization  of  South  America,  for  example,  can  never 
be  of  quite  the  same  type  as  that  of  North  America; 
and  the  civilization  of  Northern  Europe  can  never 
be  quite  the  same  as  that  of  Southern  Europe. 
Geographical,  and  climatic  surroundings  influence 
the  literature  and  habits  of  a  people,  and  these  influ- 
ence to  a  marked  degree  the  civilization  of  that 
people. 

But  the  cause  of  difference  with  which  we  are 
chiefly  concerned  lies  in  Christianity.  But  here 
if  we  should  enter  into  a  minute  di.scussion  of  this 
phase  of  the  subject,  the  necessity  of  additional 
analysis  would  immediately  confront  us ;  for  while  in 
their  general  features  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Pro- 
testant civilizations  are  the  same,  it  is  obvious  that  in 
many  important  particulars  they  widely  differ.  The 
civilization  of  the  middle  ages  of  European  history 
was  Roman  Catholic,  but  it  was  widely  different  from 
the  Protestant  civilization  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth    centuries  —  widely  difierent  indeed  from 


Some  Types  of  Civilization.  59 

the  modern  Roman  Catholic  civilization  in  countries 
where  Protestantism  has  had  little  opportunity  to 
influence  it.  The  civilization  of  the  Mexico  of  to- 
day is  Roman  Catholic  civilization,  so  also  is  that 
of  several  of  the  South  American  States ;  but  it  is 
scarcely  worth  while  for  me  to  remind  you  that  the 
civilization  of  these  countries  is  radically  different 
from  and  exceedingly  lower  than  the  type  which 
obtains  in  this  and  some  other  Protestant  countries. 
The  strength  of  Roman  Catholicism,  if  we  may 
judge  it  from  its  history,  consists  for  the  most  part  in 
the  solidity  of  its  organization,  and  the  emphasis 
which  it  places  on  the  doctrine  of  obedience.  Hence, 
it  comes  naturally  to  be  the  handmaid  of  despotic 
government,  and  puts  a  clog  on  the  wheels  of  all 
progress;  for  is  it  not  an. obvious  fact,  notwithstand- 
ing occasional  apparent  exceptions,  that  the  arts  and 
sciences  of  civilization  do  never  find  congenial  soil  in 
despotic  countries?  Look  at  Ireland;  look  at  Italy; 
look  at  Spain.  And  the  only  reason  why  the  Roman 
Catholicisrn  of  the  United  States  is  not  similiarly 
deleterious  is  because  of  the  restraining  and  neu- 
tralizing influence  of  our  Protestantism.  Roman 
Catholicism,  I  say,  is  the  handmaid  of  despotism 
and  clogs  the  wheel  of  all  progress.  Its  tendency  is — 
and  this  is  the  tendency  of  every  degree  of  Episcopacy 
— to  elevate  society,  whether  ecclesiastical  or  civil,  at 
the  expense  of  the  individual.  Its  only  cry  is  the 
church,  the  church,  the  church,  while,  so  far  as  it 
cares,  the  indfvidual  can  sink  lower  into  ignorance 
and  sin,  and  go  to  ruin  if  he  wants  to. 

But  the  tendency  of  Protestantism,  especially  of 
Republican  Protestantism,  is  to  elevate  the  indi- 
vidual.     It  is  the  handmaid  of  liberty  and  progress. 


6o  Some  Types  of  Civilization. 

It  remembers  that  society,  organization,  church,  state 
were  made  for  man  and  not  man  for  the  church  or 
state,  and  it  elevates  the  type  of  civihzation  accord- 
ingly. I  said  to  you  just  now  that  the  age  of  Louis 
XIV.  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  in  French  history. 
So  it  was  so  far  as  the  government  was  concerned; 
but  it  was  one  of  the  darkest  so  far  as  the  people 
were  concerned.  When  the  form  is  a  more  or  less 
stringent  despotism,  there  is  a  vast  difference  be- 
tween having  a  fine  government  and  a  fine  people. 
When  the  form  is  a  more  or  less  stringent  prelacy, 
there  is  a  great  difference  between  a  fine  church  and 
a  fine  membership.  The  one  does  not  necessarily 
imply  the  other.  That  which  does  most  for  the 
connection,  or  the  societ}^  or  the  organization,  or  the 
state,  or  whatever  it  may  be  called,  is  not  the  best 
unless  it  also  at  the  same  time  does  the  most  for  the 
individual.  And  the  converse  of  this  proposition  is 
also  true. 

The  broad  difference  then  between  Roman  Cath- 
olicism and  despotic  civilization  on  the  one  hand, 
and  Protestant  and  Republican  civilization  on  the 
other,  is  that  the  latter  produces  a  free  and  healthy 
individualism,  while  the  former  does  not,  but  destroys 
it  wherever  it  finds  it.  A  striking  illustration  of  this 
is  furnished  even  in  the  matter  of  proper  names. 
Under  the  dominancy  of  the  old  Roman  Catholic 
despotism  it  was  by  no  means  the  rule  for  men  to 
have  more  than  one  name.  It  was  simply  Jones,  or 
Smith,  or  Brown.  It  was  only  under  the  humanistic, 
the  elevating,  the  liberalizing  influence  of  Protestant- 
ism that  men  generally  came  to  be  called  Paul  Jones, 
or  John  vSmith,  etc.  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  importance 
of  the  individual,  and  to  that  extent  at  least  a  confes- 


Some  Types  of  Civilization.  6i 

sion  of  the  influence  which  Protestant  Christianity 
directly  or  indirectly  has  on  our  civilization. 

But  let  us  drop  the  adjectives  Roman  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  and  in  order  to  appreciate  the  more 
keenly  the  influence  of  Christianity  upon  the  world- 
civilization,  let  us  look,  at  least  briefly,  at  the 
highest  type  of  it,  presented,  not  in  the  Semitic  or 
Hamitic  races,  but  in  the  Japhetic  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  thereby  give  the  world-civilization  in 
the  absence  of  Christianity  the  best  advantage  possi- 
ble in  the  argument. 

The  two  prominent  characteristics  of  the  civiliza- 
tion of  Rome  during  its  golden  age  were  heartless 
cruelty  and  unfathomable  corruption.  Being  past 
feeling  it  gav?  itself  up  to  lasciviousness  to  work  all 
manner  of  uncleanness  with  greediness;  filled  with 
all  unrighteousness,  wickedness,  covetousness,  ma- 
liciousness, envy,  murder,  strife,  deceit,  malignity; 
insolent,  haughty,  without  natural  affection,  unmer- 
ciful, etc.  These  are  terms  applied  to  it  by  a  con- 
temporary writer.  There  was  never  an  age,  says 
another  historian,  which  stands  so  instantly  con- 
demned by  the  bare  mention  of  its  rulers  as  that 
which  recalls  the  successive  names  of  Tiberius, 
Gains,  Claudius,  Nero,  Galba,  Otho,  and  Vitellius, 
and  which  after  a  brief  gleam  of  better  examples 
under  Vespasian  and  Titus,  sank  at  last  under  the 
hideous  tyranny  of  Domitian.  More  writers  than 
one  speak  of  the  enormous  wealth  of  this  period  side 
by  side  with  most  revolting  poverty  ;  "  its  unbounded 
self-indulgence  ;  its  coarse  and  tasteless  luxury ;  its 
greedy  avarice;  its  sense  of  insecurity  and  terror; 
its  apathy,  debauchery,  and  cruelty;  its  hopeless 
fatalism ;  and  its  unspeakable  sadness  and  weariness 


62  •  Some  Types  of  Civilization. 

and  despair."  Tacitus,  with  all  his  resources  of  words, 
finds  it  difficult  to  vary  his  language  in  describing  so 
many  suicides.  At  the  lowest  extreme  of  the  social 
scale  during  the  golden  daj^s  of  the  Roman  civilization 
were  sixty  million  of  slaves,  "without  family,  with- 
out religion,  without  possessions,  without  recognized 
rights,  and  toward  whom  none  had  any  recognized 
duties,  passing  from  a  childhood  of  degradation  to  a 
manhood  of  hardship  and  an  old  age  of  unpitied 
neglect."  Masters  had  the  right  by  law  to  put  them 
to  death  at  their  pleasure ;  and  .when  they  were 
beaten  by  way  of  punishment  the  custom  was  to 
swing  them  with  weiglits  tied  to  their  feet  to  prevent 
them  from  moving.  When  punished  capitally  they 
w^ere  either  crucified  or  burned  alive,  and  if  a  master 
of  a  family  happened  to  be  killed  in  his  house  and 
the  murderer  could  not  be  discovered  the  rule  was  to 
hold  the  slaves  responsible.  Tacitus  relates  that  in 
one  instance  four  hundred  were  put  to  death  on  this 
account,  and  many  eminent  senators  openly  advo- 
cated the  brutal  law.  It  was  not  unusual  for  the 
•master  to  put  the  aged  and  useless  slave  to  perish  in 
an  island  in  the  Tiber;  and  some  there  were  who 
would  drown  them  as  food  for  the  fish  in  their  ponds. 
Only  a  little  higher  in  the  scale  were  the  common 
people,  by  far  the  larger  body  of  the  citizens  of  the 
empire.  They  were  beggars  and  idlers,  familiar  with 
the  grossest  indignities  of  an  unscrupulous  depend- 
ence. Among  the  twelve  hundred  thousand  inhabit- 
ants of  Rome  in  Cicero's  time,  there  were  scarcely  two 
thousand  who  owned  any  property.  Out  of  about 
sixty  thousand  dwelling-houses  in  Rome  only  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  were  what  we 
would  call  family  residences ;  the  rest  were  tenement 


Some  Types  of  Civilization.  •  63 

houses.  According  to  public  sentiment  trade  and 
manufacture  were  servile  employments,  and  hence 
the  common  people  spent  their  mornings  in  lounging 
about  the  court-house  and  other  public  places,  or 
in  dancing  fawning  attendance  at  the  levees  of  rich 
patrons  for  a  share  in  whose  bounty  they  daily 
struggled.  Their  afternoons  and  evenings  were  spent 
in  idly  gossiping  at  the  public  baths,  or  in  listlessly 
enjoying  the  polluted  plays  of  the  theater,  or  looking 
with  fierce  thrills  of  delighted  horror  at  the  bloody 
sports  of  the  gladiatorial  arena.  All  that  they  asked 
of  the  state  was  bread  and  the  games  of  the  circus, 
and  they  were  ready  to  support  any  administration, 
however  despotic,  if  it  would  only  supply  these 
needs. 

Trajan,  on  one  occasion,  by  way  of  celebrating  one 
of  his  victories,  set  ten  thousand  men  to  fighting  in 
the  arena,  with  one  another  and  with  wild  beasts,  and 
for  purposes  of  such  barbarous  amusement  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  gladiators  were  supported  at  the 
expense  of  the  government.  And  when  the  patri- 
cians wished  to  give  what  we  call  private  entertain-t 
ments  the  fashionable  rule  was  to  engage  a  hundred 
pairs  of  the  gladiators  and  set  them  to  butchering 
each  other.  Titus  Flamininus  even  celebrated  his 
father's  funeral  by  a  three  days'  fight  of  seventy-four 
gladiators,  and  this  also  was  the  patrician  custom; 
and  so  popular  were  these  barbarous  sports  that  there 
was  not  a  town  in  the  Roman  Empire  from  Britain  to 
Syria  that  could  not  boast  of  an  arena ;  and  it  was 
not  until  Christianity  had  been  preached  two  hundred 
years  that  an  edict  was  passed  forbidding  even 
women  to  fight.  This  is  Roman  civilization  of  which 
I  am  speaking.     The  strangest  thing  perhaps  is  not. 


64  Some  Types  of  Civilization. 

that  such  things  were  so  common,  but  that  they  were 
actually  approved  by  such  enlightened  sages  as  Cicero 
and  Titus. 

An  ancient  and  well-known  writer  informs  us  that 
they  were  without  natural  affection;  and  in  proof 
of  this  statement  other  historians  tell  us.  that  the 
murder  of  new-born  infants  was  not  only  practiced, 
but  was  an  allowed  practice  in  all  the  states  of 
Greece.  Even  in  polite  and  shall  I  say  civilized, 
Athens,  the  abandonment  of  children  by  their  parents 
to  wild  beasts  was  permitted  without  blame  or  censure ; 
and  yet  the  Athenians  called  every  body  barbarians 
but  themselves.  When  king  Attains  murdered  his 
own  children  in  order  to  leave  his  crown  to  his 
brother  even  the  humane  Plutarch  applauds  the  act 
as  a  merit.  Even  the  wise  and  virtuous  Solon  gave 
patents  permission  by  law  to  kill  their  children. 
And  philosophers  supported  the  custom  by  argu- 
ment. Aristotle  thought  they  .should  not  only  be 
permitted  but  even  encouraged  to  do  so,  and  Plato 
was  of  the  same  opinion ;  and  later  in  Italy  the  crime 
was  daily  perpetrated,  and  the  soil  of  the  empire 
from  one  end  to  the  other  was  stained  with  the  blood 
of  murdered  infants.  This  was  the  civilization  of 
Greece  and  Rome. 

As  to  the  lowest  and  nameless  grades  of  inde- 
cency, it  may  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  they 
were  generally  practiced,  but  it  is  remarkable  that 
they  should  have  been  sanctioned  both  by  public  law 
and  social  opinion.  Neither  Seneca,  nor  Xenophon, 
nor  Plato,  nor  Aristotle,  nor  Socrates,  nor  Cato,  is 
excepted  from  the  revolting  account  of  such  writers 
as  Plutarch  and  Ouintillian.  Plato  and  Socrates  even 
went  so  far  as   to   hand   their  wives   over   to   their 


■f^- 


Some  Types  of  Civilization.  65 

friends,  or  in  other  words,  to  procure  their  unchas- 
tity,  an  evil  so  prominent  in  Paul's  day  that  he  finds 
it  necessary  to  bring  to  bear  against  it  inspired 
legislation  in  his  second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians. 
And  this  is  the  boasted  civilization  of  Greece  and 
Rome  of  which  I  am  speaking. 

But  the  tale  is  too  long.  Some  time  ago  I  prepared 
an  address  in  which  I  compared  ancient  pagan  and 
Christian  civilization  in  respect  to  the  matter  of  pub- 
lic and  private  charities.  So  the  comparison  might 
be  continued  in  detail  in  respect  to  various  other 
things.  But  the  tale,  I  say,  is  too  long,  and  in  many 
respects  too  revolting.  View  the  great  mountain  in 
the  dim  distance,  as  some  one  has  said,  and  it  seems 
clothed  in  an  azure  hue  of  beauty ;  but  come  near  it, 
and  the  azure  hue  of  beauty  has  faded  away  and  we 
see  nothing  but  giant  crags  and  unfathomable  abysses 
of  darkness.  So  we  see  pagan  civilization  for  the 
most  part  at  a  distance.  View  it  more  nearly  and 
the  blackness  of  its  abysses  of  corruption  become 
visible  to  us.  Christian  civilization  has  its  defects, 
and  it  mig^it  be  profitable  to  point  them  out,  but 
whether  so  or  not,  it  is  infinitely  better  than  civiliza- 
tion without  Christianity. 

5 


WHAT  IS  OVER  OUR  HEADS? 


A.  H.  BUCHANAN,  IvL.D., 
Professor  of  Mathematics  aud  Civil  Engineering. 

Who  will  decide  what  is  over  our  heads  when 
"above  is  below  and  below  is  above,"  when  "depth  is 
swallowed  up  in  height  insurmountable  and  height  is 
swallowed  up  in  depth  unfathomable?"  When  the 
direction  up  twelve  hours  later  is  down,  what  is  there 
over  head  which  is  not  under  foot  ? 

Those  who  have  not  made  astronomical  magnitudes 
and  distances  a  special  study  rarely  ever  accept  them 
with  the  confidence  they  do  distances  from  place  to 
place  on  the  earth's  surface.  They  consider  their  de- 
termination based  upon  principles  vague  and  uncer- 
taiui  or,  if  not,  at  least  beyond  the  comprehension  of 
all  save  the  practical  astronomer;  and  he  is  usually 
believed  to  draw  very  largely  upon  his  imagination. 
When  such  persons  enter  an  observatory,  and  see 
the  apparently  complicated  instruments  they  usually 
leave  it  feeling  that  the  science  which  requires  the 
use  of  all  these  appliances  is  utterly  beyond  the  com- 
prehension of  the.  common  mind.  There  is  no  suffi- 
cient reason  for  this  incredulity  and  misconception; 
but  the  man  is  rarely  ever  moved  who  surrenders  to 
the  common  prejudices  against  the  conclusions  of  as- 
tronomical science,  and  encases  himself  in  the  narrow 
theory  which  makes  the  earth  the  central  and  the 
largest  thing  in  this  universe. 

The  surveyor  measures  a  line  along  the  bank  of  a 
river,  and  from  its  extremities  the  angles  to  a  tree  on 
(66) 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  67 

the  opposite  bank,  and  with  these  data  finds  the  dis- 
tance to  the  tree ;  or  he  measures  very  carefully  a  base 
line  five  miles  in  length,  and  from  its  extremities  the 
angles  to  signals  on  hills  on  each  side  of  it  ten  miles 
apart,  and  thence  to  others  from  twenty  to  forty  miles, 
thus  covering  your  State  with  a  nc^\vork  of  triangles, 
whose  sides  he  computes,  and  tl.  is  determines  the 
distances  from  j^our  capital  to  Knc ._  v\Ile,  to  intermedi- 
ate places,  and  to  places  from  onr  e  r.d  of  your  State 
to  the  other.  No  one  hesitates  to  accept  his  results 
as  strictly  correct,  while  perhaps  not  more  than  one  in 
ten  would  comprehend  without  difficulty  the  methods 
by  which  he  reaches  them.  Now,  why  should  his  re- 
sults be  accepted  without  question  and  the  astron- 
omer's rejected?  Is  the  latter  more  visionary  or  does 
he  deal  with  things  less  real?  As  a  rule,  practical  as- 
tronomers are  the  most  cautious  of  all  men  in  ex- 
pressing an  opinion.  Their  reputation  depends  upon 
scrupulous  accuracy ;  without  it  they  become  the  jest 
of  their  profession.  For  instance,  no  one  is  so  guarded 
in  what  he  says  of  the  physical  constitution  of  the 
sun  as  he  who  has  made  tliat  his  life-time  study. 
Lecturers  often  pick  up  what  the}'  say,  enlarge  and 
amplify,  until  the  original  is  not  only  unrecognized, 
but  absolutely  perverted.  If  they  are  not  practical 
astronomers  it  is  well  to  accept  their  assertions  with 
caution. 

The  fundamental  principles  of  practical  astronomy 
are  not  different  from  those  of  theodolite  surveying. 
In  finding  the  tree's  distance,  or  that  of  Knoxville 
from  Nashville,  essentially  the  same  methods  are  em- 
ployed as  those  used  by  the  astronomer  to  obtain  the 
distance  to  the  moon,  to  a  planet,  to  the  sun,  to  a  star. 

The  instruments  of  an  obser\'atory  are  less  compli- 


68  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

cated  than  the  steam  engine ;  any  one  familiar  with 
the  details  of  either  readily  understands  all  the  pe- 
culiar manipulations.  In  our  national  observatory  is 
a  common  laborer,  without  education,  whose  duty  it  is 
to  assist  in  moving  and  pointing  the  great  twenty-six- 
inch  instrument.  This  man,  while  engaged  in  his 
special  work,  has  discovered  several  double  stars  be- 
fore unknown.  Professor  Swift,  of  the  Rochester 
Observatory,  has  a  little  son  who,  when  only  thirteen 
years  of  age,  discovered  several  new  nebulce. 

A  few  days'  experience  teaches  you  how  a  surveyor 
gets  his  results,  and  also  how  worthy  they  are  of  con- 
fidence. So  in  astronomy  you  can  transform  more 
from  the  ideal  to  the  real  during  one  evening  in  an 
observatory  with  a  practical  man  than  by  studying  a 
fortnight.  Like  surveying,  it  can  not  be  taught  to 
purpose  without  practice,  being  no  exception  to  the 
adage,  "Any  thing  is  simple  enough  when  you  know 
how  it  is  done."  Methods  are  resolved  into  a  long 
succession  of  steps,  it  is  true,  but  each  is  based  upon 
the  most  simple  principles,  and  when  the  last  is  taken 
you  look  down  from  an  eminence  over  an  easy  flight, 
though  it  may  be  difficult  to  see  the  connection  be- 
tween the  first  standard  measure  and  the  astonishing 
result.  Difficulties  in  this  branch  of  knowledge,  if 
not  unreal,  are  at  least  much  exaggerated.  There  is 
no  other  science  of  which  so  many  fundamental  prin- 
ciples may  be  learned  with  the  naked  eye,  and  it  is 
almost  incredible  how  much  can  be  and  has  been  done 
with  instruments  of  less  than  a  three-inch  object  glass. 
Often  you  hear  of  one  who,  by  self-denial,  has  se- 
cured a  small  instrument  and  made  a  start  on  the 
road  to  eminence.  You  have  one  to-day  from  your 
capital  (now  of  the  "Lick  Observatory")  who  began 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  69 

in  this  way,  and  is  now  better  known  in  Europe  than 
among  yourselves.  Some  who  could  purchase  only 
the  object  and  eye-glasses  have  made  of  these  their 
own  instruments.  The  last  transit  of  Venus  devel- 
oped so  man}'  amateurs  that  one  astronomer  remarked, 
"  This  country  is  one  great  observatory."  Whose  fault 
is  it  that  we  are  not  all  astronomers  in  some  sense? 
Do  we  lack  instruments?  We  have  but  to  step  out 
any  clear  evening  with  an  upturned  face  and  truth- 
loving  heart  to  study  the  heavens  by  a  celestial  globe 
that  can  not  be  surpassed  but  by  its  infinite  Artisan. 
Our  opera  glasses  will  serve  us  better  than  many  of 
the  best  instruments  of  the  ancient  a.stronomers.  If 
we  wish  to  go  further,  for  a  mere  pittance  we  can  fur- 
nish ourselves  with  a  better  telescope  than  Tycho 
Brahe's.  Were  there  as  much  money  looming  in  the 
distance  as  there  is  in  the  field  of  the  mechanic,  the 
physician,  or  the  lawyer,  eminent  astronomers  would 
be  as  numerous  as  noted  men  in  other  departments  of 
life ;  and  the  appalling  distances  and  magnitudes  of  this 
science  would  be  as  familiar  and  as  universally  ac- 
cepted as  distances  over  sea  and  land. 

Difficulties  there  are,  it  is  true,  but  the  novice  in 
any  thing  retraces  his  steps  over  and  over  again,  re-ex- 
amining his  premises,  doubting  and  returning  for  more 
a.ssurance,  before  he  finally  triumphs.  If  one  would 
master  the  field  of  astronomy,  he  must  enter  its  sacred 
precincts  armed  and  equipped  with  the  highest  style 
of  mathematical  analysis.  His  road  to  eminence, 
however,  is  no  more  exacting  than  that  to  distinction 
elsewhere.  Because  we  may  not  all  be  Newtons,  La 
Places,  Herschels,  or  Leverriers,  will  we  be  nothing, 
reject  the  life  work  of  such  minds,  and  balance  our 
opinions,  without  study,  against  their  logical  demon- 


70  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

strations?  The  common  prejudices  against  their  over- 
whelming results  are  without  a  true  basis,  and  while 
these  are  entertained  we  can  not  get  the  idea  of  God's 
greatness  which  he  intended  that  we  should  receive 
from  his  works  and  word. 

As  already  intimated,  astronomy,  like  surveying, 
has  its  base  lines,  of  which  the  first  to  be  measured  is 
the  earth's  radius  or  semi-diameter.  The  difficulty  of 
measuring  a  line  accurately  perhaps  rarelj^  occurs  to 
any  one,  while  science  has  really  been  taxed  as  much 
for  this  as  for  any  thing  else— perhaps  more  than  for 
any  thing  else.  Nothing  can  be  had  to  measure  with 
that  will  continue  of  the  same  length.  If  a  rod  of 
iron,  wood,  glass,  or  any  thing  is  cut  an  exact  j'ard  or 
meter  long,  when  it  gets  warmer  or  colder  it  is  not 
the  same  length.  The  standard  unit,  then,  is  such 
only  at  a  given  temperature,  and  since  we  can  not  use 
it  and  preserve  this  temperature  constant,  we  must 
find  how  much  it  varies  for  a  change  of  one  degree, 
note  its  actual  temperature  every  time  it  is  applied  to 
a  line,  and  correct  for  the  difference  from  an  assumed 
standard  temperature.  With  such  an  ever-varying 
standard  length  the  exact  distance  from  the  earth's 
center  to  the  circumference  of  its  equator  must  be 
found  by  measurements  made  upon  its  surface  in  a 
great  number  of  different  localities.  .  These  are  made 
by  the  methods  of  geodetic  surveying,  and  consist 
first  of  a  base  line  from  four  to  ten  miles,  whose 
length  is  so  carefully  determined  that  it  is  known  to 
be.  correct  to  within  half  an  inch.  Next  a  chain  of 
triangles  based  upon  it  is  located,  extending  north 
and  south  for  hundreds  of  miles,  all  of  whose  angles 
are  measured  with  the  greatest  scientific  accuracy, 
and  then  all  their  sides  are  just  as  carefully  computed. 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  71 

From  these  results,  with  the  exact  directions  of  the 
various  lines,  the  length  of  a  north  and  south  line 
extending  through  the  entire  chain  is  computed.  The 
difiference  of  the  latitude  of  its  termini  are  found  by 
astronomical  observations,  and  thus  the  length  of  an 
arc  of  a  terrestrial  meridian  intercepting  several  de- 
grees in  that  particular  locality  is  found.  Every  civ- 
ilized nation  strives  in  this  way  to  contribute  the 
length  of  a  meridian  arc,  and  also  that  of  an  arc  of  a 
parallel  of  latitude,  as  extensive  as  possible.  With 
the  data  thus  furnished  the  dimensions  of  the  earth 
as  known  at  present  have  been  determined.  The 
principal  of  these  arcs  were  the  combined  French  and 
English  of  twenty-two  degrees  and  nine  minutes,  the 
Russian  of  twenty-five  degrees  and  twenty  minutes, 
and  the  Indian  of  twenty-one  degrees  and  twenty-one 
minutes.  Several  other  smaller  arcs  were  used  which 
influenced  the  result  to  some  extent.  Colonel  Clarke, 
of  England,  with  all  such  data  available,  a  few  years 
ago  found  the  equatorial  radius  of  the  earth  to  be 
3,963fV  miles  and  the  polar  nearly  3,950.  After  a  few 
years  the  additional  data  of  an  arc  of  latitude  of  about 
forty-seven  degrees,  resulting  from  the  connection  of 
the  geodetic  surveys  in  North  Africa  with  those  of 
Western  Europe  by  the  great  quadrilateral  spanning 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  the  arc  of  a  parallel  of  lat- 
itude in  the  United  States  extending  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific  with  the  arc  of  a  meridian  reaching 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  lakes,  will  enable  a 
still  more  accurate  result  to  be  determined.  Future 
computations  based  upon  these  ever-accumulating 
data  will  perhaps  change  but  very  little  this  — the 
first  astronomical  base  line— from  3,96317  miles,  and 
with  it  the  distance  to  the  moon  may  now  be  deter- 


72  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

mined ;  and  the  methods  will  prove  it  to  be  our  near- 
est heavenly  body. 

When  the  moon  is  in  either  quarter,  only  one  half 
of  its  illuminated  surface  being  visible,  the  earth 
must  obviously  be  at  right  angles  to  the  line  joining 
it  to  the  sun.  At  such  a  time  measure  the  angular  dis- 
tance between  the  moon  and  sun.  If  no  angular  instru- 
ment is  at  hand,  take  a  pair  of  compasses  or  a  folding 
foot-ruler,  point  one  arm  at  the  moon  and  open  the 
other  out  until  it  points  to  the  sun  at  the  same  time. 
Now,  if  the  opening  between  these  two  arms  were 
five  sixths  of  one  right  angle,  the  sun  would  be  about 
four  times  as  distant  as  the  moon ;  or,  if  eight 
ninths  of  a  right  angle,  it  would  be  six  times  as  dis- 
tant. In  fact,  the  actual  opening  between  the  arms 
of  the  compasses  will  be  so  near  a  right  angle 
that  the  difference  from  it  will  be  inappreciable  with 
ordinary  instruments.  In  this  way  Aristarchus  proved 
the  sun's  distance  many  times  greater  than  that  of  the 
moon.  Now,  to  find  the  distance  from  the  center  of  the 
earth  to  the  moon,  place  two  men  on  the  same  north 
and  south  line,  one  as  near  the  north  and  the  other 
the  south  pole  as  possible,  with  the  necessary  instru- 
ments, and  when  the  moon  is  crossing  the  meridian 
of  each  let  him  measure  carefully  the  angle  between 
a  vertical  line  and  the  line  from  himself  to  the  moon. 
Then  let  each  observer  find  his  latitude  and  longitude 
very  carefully  by  observations  upon  a  few  stars,  with 
which  and  the  known  dimensions  of  the  earth  the 
exact  distance  and  direction  of  a  straight  line  through 
the  earth  from  one  to  the  other  can  be  determined. 
These  data,  with  the  distance  of  each  from  the  earth's 
center  which  is  easily  foiind,  are  all  that  must  be 
known  to  find  all  the  parts  of  the  four-sided  figure 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  73 

formed  by  lines  from  each  observer,  one  to  the  moon 
and  one  to  the  earth's  center,  one  diagonal  of  which 
is  the  distance  from  the  earth's  center  to  that  of  the 
moon.  The  computation  of  this  quadrilateral  by 
simple  trigonometric  methods  is  just  such  a  problem 
as  the  surveyor  is  often  required  to  make.  The  dis- 
tance to  the  moon  has  been  determined  several  times 
by  this  method,  and  is  very  accurately  known.  This 
work  is  simple  and  easily  enough  understood,  yet  the 
observations  are  laborious  and  require  great  care,  and 
the  computations  of  the  parts  deprending  upon  the 
earth's  dimensions  are  difficult  and  tedious. 

The  parallax,  as  it  is  called,  of  a  body  in  the  solar 
system  is  the  angle  between  two  lines -drawn  from  it, 
one  to  the  earth's  center  and  the  other  just  touching 
its  surface  at  the  equator.  For  illustration,  suspend  a 
ball  two  feet  in  diameter  at  a  distance  of  fifty-seven 
and  three  tenths  feet,  draw  one  line  from  the  eye  to 
its  center  and  one  just  touching  its  surface,  and  the 
angle  between  these  lines  will  be  just  one  degree.  If 
this  ball's  radius  is  one  mile  instead  of  one  foot  its 
distance  would  have  to  be  fifty-seven  and  three  tenths 
miles  to  subtend  the  same  angle  of  one  degree.  Again, 
in  order  that  the  earth's  radius — 3,963y%^  miles — may 
subtend  the  same  angle  its  distance  niust  be  fifty- 
seven  and  three  tenths  times  3,963y^:i^,  or  about  227,000 
miles.  But  the  moon's  mean  distance  is  238,868  miles, 
so  it  must  be  still  farther  away,  and  the  angle  sub- 
tended by  the  earth's  radius  at  this  distance  is  fifty- 
seven  minutes  and  two  and  one  third  seconds — less 
than  one  degree — and  is  called  the  moon's  mean  equa- 
torial horizontal  parallax.  Hence,  if  the  parallax  of  a 
body  is  known  its  distance  from  the  earth  is  an  easy 
arithmetical  problem,  and  vice  versa. 


74  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

The  moon's  mean  distance  now  being  known,  her 
diameter  can  be  easily  found  by  measuring  the  angle 
between  two  lines  drawn  from  the  eye  to  opposite 
sides  of  the  moon  when  at  its  mean  distance  and  tak- 
ing one  half  of  it,  which  will  be  the  angle  subtended 
by  the  moon's  radius.  This  angle  is  fifteen  minutes 
and  thirt3^-five  seconds,  or  about  three  elevenths  of  the 
moon's  parallax,  and  hence  the  moon's  diameter  is 
about  three  elevenths  of  that  of  the  earth,  or  2,160 
miles. 

The  next  distance  to  be  determined,  which  is  also 
the  second  astronomical  base  line,  is  that  of  the  sun, 
and  it,  too,  must  be  found  from  his  equatorial  hori- 
zontal parallax.  The  problem  of  the  sun's  parallax 
is  the  capital  one  in  astronomy.  The  method  used  in 
finding  that  of  the  moon  is  far  too  inaccurate  to  be 
used  in  computing  that  of  the  sun  on  account  of  his 
much  greater  distance.  From  tiie  definition  and  illus- 
tration just  given  we  understand  that  what  is  wanted 
is  the  angle  at  the  sun  formed  by  two  lines  drawn 
from  his  center,  one  to  the  earth's  center  and  the  other 
so  as  just  to  touch  its  surface  at  a  point  on  the 
equator — in  other  words,  it  is  the  largest  angle  at  the 
sun  when  at  his  mean  distance  that  a  line  3,962,-^ 
miles  long  can  subtend. 

By  observations  made  hundreds  of  3'ears  ago  Kep- 
ler discovered  the  law:  The  squares  of  the  times  in 
which  the  planets  revolve  about  the  sun  are  propor- 
tional to  the  cubes  of  their  mean  distances  from  him. 
These  periodic  times  may  be  observed  by  any  one, 
and  are  all  known  with  great  accuracy.  By  means  of 
this  law  the  astronomer  knows  with  the  same  accuracy 
the  relative  distances  of  the  planets  from  the  sun — 
that  is,  their  distances  compared  with  that  of  the  earth 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  75 

taken  as  one  or  the  unit  and  called  the  astronomical 
unit.  The  problem  now  before  us  is  to  find  these  ab- 
solute distances  in  miles  by  first  finding  the  length  in 
miles  of  the  astronomical  unit  by  means  of  the  sun's 
parallax. 

Halley's  method  deduces  it  by  means  of  the  differ- 
ence between  the  parallax  of  the  sun  and  Venus  dur- 
ing her  transit  over  his  face,  and  may  be  illustrated 
by  supposing  two  persons,  one  sitting  and  the  other 
standing,  to  observe  the  line  traced  out  upon  the  wall 
of  a  building  in  front  of  them  by  the  head  of  a  third 
passing  between  them  and  it  and  at  a  distance  from 
them  of  about  one  fourth  that  of  the  wall.  Knowing 
the  distance  in  feet  between  the  two  observers,  the 
angular  distance  between  the  lines  traced  by  the  head 
of  the  third  person,  and  the  relative  distances  of  each 
from  the  other  and  the  wall,  the  absolute  distances  in 
feet  between  the  same  may  be  obtaned  b}'  a  simple 
arithmetical  calculation.  So  two  observers  stationed 
at  different  points  on  the  earth  see  the  planet  Venus 
pass  across  the  sun's  face  at  different  distances  from 
the  sun's  center,  and  in  an  indirect  way  measure 
them  with  considerable  accuracy.  These  differences 
of  distance  due  to  the  positions  of  the  observers  are 
proportional  to  the  difference  of  parallax  of  the  two 
bodies,  and,  while  both  change  their  directions,  Venus 
changes  the  faster,  and  thus  seems  to  move  past  the 
sun  from  east  to  west.  At  the  time  of  the  last  transit 
(December,  1882)  the  sun's  distance  was  about  three 
and  seventy-eight  hundredths  times  that  of  Venus, 
making,  therefore,  the  parallax  of  the  latter  three  and 
seventy-eight  hundredths  times  that  of  the  former, 
and  the  difference  of  these  two  and  sevent3^-eight 
hundredths  times  that  of'  the  sun ;  so,  when  this  dif- 


76  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

ference  has  been  made  out  from  the  observations 
taken,  we  have  but  to  divide  it  by  two  and  seventy- 
eight  hundredths  to  get  the  parallax  of  the  sun.  Fig- 
ure I  illustrates  the  method. 


Let  one  observer  be  at  A,  as  far  to  the  north  as  pos- 
sible, who  will  see  Venus  come  on  the  sun's  face  at  F, 
and  will  observe  very  carefully  when  she  just  touches 
it  on  the  outside  and  again  when  she  just  touches  it 
on  the  inside  or  gets  entirely  on  the  sun.  He  will 
see  Venus  pass  across  on  the  line  F  G,  and  must  ob- 
serve the  time  when  she  gets  to  the  sun's  edge  at  G  and 
when  she  gets  entirely  off.  These  observations  will 
enable  him  to  tell  how  long  the  center  of  Venus  is  in 
crossing  the  sun.  Another  observer,  as  far  south  as 
possible,  at  B  sees  the  sun  cross  on  the  line  C  D,  and 
makes  a  similar  set  of  observations,  by  which  he  finds 
the  time  the  planet's  center  was  crossing  on  his  line. 
It  rnust  be  remarked  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  ob- 
server to  get  the  times  of  the  several  phases  to  greater 
accuracy  than  within  five  seconds  of  time,  which 
yields  an  error  in  the  required  distance  of  one  mile  in 
four  hundred  miles.  In  the  transit  of  1S82  some  of 
the  best  observers  at  the  same  station  differed  in  their 
times  by  ten  seconds.  The  time  Venus  would  be  in 
describing  the  diameter  of  the  sun  being  known  by 
means  of  the  times  of  transiting  the  lines  F  G  and 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  77 

C  D,  their  lengths  as  compared  with  it  are  also  known, 
and  thence  their  distances  from  the  sun's  center,  the 
difference  between  which  furnishes  the  length  (P  Q) 
of  the  perpendicular  to  them  in  seconds  of  arc.  But 
P  Q  in  seconds  is  in  the  same  ratio  to  the  difference  of 
the  parallaxes  of  the  sun  and  Venus  as  the  known 
distance  in  miles  between  the  observers  A  and  B  is  to 
the  earth's  radius.  The  differences  of  parallaxes  thus 
becomes  known,  which,  divided  by  two  and  seventy- 
eight  hundredths,  gives  the  sun's  parallax.  The  line 
A  B  in  this  proportion  becomes  known  from  the  earth's 
dimensions  and  the  two  observers'  latitudes  and  lon- 
gitudes. 

Another  method,  called  the  Delislean,  separates  the 
observers  as  widely  as  possible  in  longitude,  while 
they  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  in  a  line  parallel 
to  the  planet's  motion,  and  the  geographical  position 
of  each  should  be  known  with  great  accuracy.  Each 
observes  the  several  phases  as  in  Halley's  method,  and 
the  differences  of  time  for  the  respective  places  as 
observed  by  each,  with  the  known  relative  positions 
of  the  observers,  furnish  the  data  by  which  the  paral- 
lax is  deduced  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  one  just 
given.     Figure  2  illustrates  the  method. 


The  observer  at  B  notes  the  times  of  external  and 
internal  contacts  at  P  when  Venus  is  at  Vj,  after  which 
the  observer  at  W  makes  the  same  observations  when 


78 


What  is  Ovkr  Our  Heads? 


she  is  at  V2.  By  tlie  similar  triangles,  E  W  P  and 
ViV2P,  the  angle  E  P  W  is  easily  found,  and  thence  the 
sun's  parallax. 

The  photographic  method  was  used  chiefly  by  the 
American  observers  in  the  last  transit.  In  this  the 
object  is  to  get  as  many  photographs  of  Venus  on  the 
sun's  face  as  possible.  The  apparatus  is  illustrated 
by  figure  3. 


flG.3. 

Suns  Rays 

I  39  FI 

4-FI 


Two  hollow  cylinders  (A  and  B)  of  iron,  four  feet 
high  and  one  foot  in  diameter,  are  set  firmly  in  the 
ground,  in  an  exact  north  and  south  line,  about  thirty- 
nine  feet  apart,  with  their  tops  on  the  same  level.  A 
large  lens  (E)  is  mounted  on  B,  and  behind  it  on  the 
same  cap-plate  rests  a  heliostat  turned  by  the  clock- 
work supported  by  the  stand  (C)  just  behind  B.  The 
clock-work  turns  an  unsilvered  polished  glass  re- 
flector (D)  of  the  instrument,  which  throws  the  light 
of  the  sun  through  the  lens  E  to  the  plate  F  on  top 
of  the  cylinder  A,  called  the  plate-holder.  The  re- 
flector D  is  so  turned  as  to  keep  a  steady  pencil  of 
sunlight  in  the  direction  to  F.  The  accurate  polish- 
ing of  this  plate  is  the  most  difficult  and  delicate  task 
in  the  construction  of  the  apparatus;  a  small  defect 
in  its  surface  makes  the  work  worthless.  The  plate- 
holder  is  inclosed  in  a  dark  room  (not  shown  in  the 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  79 

figure),  witli  just  enough  light  admitted  through  a 
small  window  glazed  with  j^ellow  glass  to  enable  the 
party  to  see  how  to  work.  An  opening  through  the 
wall  of  this  dark  room  is  made  opposite  to  the  plate- 
holder,  which  is  opened  and  closed  by  a  sliding  piece 
called  the  target,  in  which  there  is  a  round  opening 
that  admits  the  light  to  the  plate  F  when  the  target  is 
moved  back  and  forth  across  the  opening  "in  the  wall. 
The  glass  plates  on  which  the  photographs  are  taken 
are  all  prepared,  before  the  day  of  transit,  with  the 
sensitized  coating,  and  dried,  numbered,  packed,  and 
sealed  up  in  boxes  so  as  to  exclude  all  light.  When 
the  hour  arrives  to  begin  w^ork  the  chief  astronomer 
stands  wnth  his  hand  on  the  target,  and,  at  a  signal 
from  the  photographer  when  a  plate  is  adjusted,  passes 
the  target  rapidly  across  the  opening,  exposing  the 
plate  to  the  light  about  one  tenth  of  a  second.  Just 
as  the  opening  in  the  target  is  opposite  the  plate  a 
point  projecting  from  the  lower  edge  presses  a  spring 
that  breaks  a  current  of  electricity  going  through  a 
chronometer,  which  is  connected  with  a  cronograph 
recording  the  beats  of  its  seconds  on  a  sheet  of  paper, 
thereby  recording  with  them  the  exact  instant  the  ex- 
posure was  made.  One  photograph  can  be  taken 
about  every  minute.  In  front  of  the  sensitized  plate 
is  suspended  a  plumb  line  of  very  fine  silver  thread, 
which  is  photographed  on  every  plate  with  the  sun 
and  exactly  through  its  center.  By  means  of  this 
image  of  the  plumb  line  the  angle  can  be  measured 
with  precision,  which  is  made  by  a  line  joining  the 
centers  of  the  sun  and  Venus  w'ith  the  meridian.  Ttie 
diameters  of  these  photographs  are  about  four  inches. 
The  position  of  the  center  of  the  image  of  Venus  with 
reference  to  that  of  the  sun  and  its  north  point  has  to 


8o  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

be  very  carefully  measured  for  every  photograph,  and 
such  is  the  care  required  in  this  work  that  with  the 
one  measuring  engine  two  years  will  be  occupied  in 
measuring  the  750  photographs  taken  by  the  various 
parties  during  the  last  transit. 

When  these  measurements  are  completed  the  re- 
sults for  each  plate  are  introduced  into  complicated 
formulae,  the  solutions  of  which  give  small  corrections 
to  be  applied  to  the  tabulated  values  of  the  parallaxes 
of  the  sun  and  Venus  for  the  same  instant  at  which 
the  photograph  was  taken,  such  tabulated  values  being 
made  from  the  best  mean  values  now  known.  Thus 
each  photograph  is  made  to  furnish  its  own  new 
value  for  these  quantities,  and  the  mean  of  all  is 
taken  as  the  final  result.  These  are  the  essentials  of 
the  photographic  method.  But  the  methods  by  the 
transit  of  Venus  were  decided  before  the  last  transit 
(1882)  to  be  inferior  to  others,  and  little  benefit  is  ex- 
pected to  be  derived  from  them.  This  method  can 
not  give  a  result  with  a  less  probable  error  than  one 
mile  within  four  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  or  the 
sun's  distance  within  two  hundred  thousand  miles. 

Another  method  of  the  problem  of  the  solar  distance 
is  based  upon  the  difference  in  the  attraction  of  the 
sun  upon  the  earth  and  moon  due  to  their  difference 
in  distance  from  him  caused  by  the  moon's  rotation 
around  the  earth.  The  moon's  distance  being  accu- 
rately known,  and  the  difference  in  the  sun's  gravi- 
tating force  upon  it  and  the  earth  due  to  this  distance 
being  determined,  the  ratio  of  the  moon's  distance  to 
that  of  the  sun's  must  result,  and  from  this  the  lat- 
ter's  distance.  It  promises  a  more  accurate  result 
than  the  transits,  and  will  therefore  receive  much 
attention  in  future  from  practical  astronomers. 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  8i 

One  of  the  best  methods  of  solving  this  problem 
consists  in  making  measurements  on  the  planet  Mars, 
at  the  time  of  rising  and  setting,  vi-hen  he  is  nearest 
to  the  earth  and  therefore  opposite  to  the  sun.  This 
method  is  illustrated  by  figure  4. 


J1C.4 


— St^ 


Suppose  Mars  (M)  in  the  position  just  mentioned, 
when  seen  from  the  center  of  the  earth  should  appear 
almost  in  the  same  direction  as  some  fixed  star  (S):  to 
an  observer  (P)  on  the  equator  at  the  time  of  rising 
he  would  appear  farther  east  than  the  star  by  the 
angle  S  P  Mi,  because  the  star  is  so  far  away  it  would 
appear  exactly  in  tire  same  direction  from  P  or  C.  At 
setting  the  observer  will  be  at  O,  and  Mars  then  will 
appear  farther  west  than  the  star  by  the  angle  S  O  M^. 
Now,  if  both  these  angles  are  accurately  measured, 
one  half  of  their  sum  will  be  the  sun's  parallax. 

Another  method,  and  the  one  which  will  be  the  best 
after  accurate  observations  through  a  few  hundred 
years,  is  by  the  perturbations  produced  by  the  earth 
upon  the  planets  Venus  and  INIars.  This,  of  course, 
can  not  be  illustrated,  and  is  only  mentioned. 

The  last  methods  that  will  be  mentioned  here  are 
those  by  the  velocity  of  light,  and  by  the  constant  ab- 
erration of  light  which  depends  upon  this  velocity 
and  that  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit.  These  are  practi- 
cally the  same.  They  are  equally  as  good  as  any  now 
available.  It  is  found  by  observations  on  the  eclipses 
of  the  moons  of  Jupiter  that  it  takes  light  just  four 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  seconds  to  traverse  the  mean 
6 


82  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

distance  from  the  sun  to  the  earth.  The  velocity  of 
light  has  been  carefully  measured  by  Foucault,  Mich- 
aelson,  Newcomb,  and  others  and  found  to  be  186,330 
miles  per  second.  This  multiplied  by  four  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  will  give  the  sun's  distance,  from 
which  his  parallax  may  be  deduced. 

After  combining  the  results  from  all  the  best  meth- 
ods now  available  the  solar  parallax  is  found  to  be 
eight  and  eight  tenths  seconds  (8.8"),  which  perhaps 
can  not  be  in  error  either  way  by  as  much  as  the  one 
hundredth  of  a  second.  Now,  returning  to  the  illus- 
tration already  given,  in  the  case  of  a  ball  of  one  mile 
radius  at  the  distance  of  fifty-seven  and  three  tenths — 
or,  more  accurately,  57.29578 — miles,  we  have  seen  the 
angle  formed  by  two  lines  drawn,  one  to  the  center 
and  the  other  just  touching  its  surface,  is  one  degree. 
To  subtend  an  angle  of  eight  and  eight  tenths  degrees 
it  is  evident  it  would  have  to  be  removed  3,600  seconds, 
divided  by  eight  and  eight  tenths  seconds,  or  four 
hundred  and  nine  and  one  eleventh  times  as  far,  or 
23.439tV  niiles.  Then  if  its  radius  be  increased  to 
that  of  the  earth,  this  distance  would  have  to  be  in- 
creased 2>,9^2,Yu  times  to  subtend  the  same  angle,  and 
this  brings  us  to  the  sun's  distance,  equal  to  about 
92,896,000  miles,  or  the  round  number  of  ninety-three 
millions  of  miles.  This,  then,  is  the  adopted  length 
of  our  second  astronomical  base  line — the  mean  dis- 
tance of  the  earth  from  the  sun,  or  the  foot-ruler  of  the 
universe — and  its  length  is  perhaps  not  in  error  over 
one  hundred  thousand  miles. 

The  importance  of  this  distance  justifies  the  fore- 
going lengthy  details  of  the  methods  of  deducing  it, 
since  when  established  in  so  many  independent  ways, 
its  accuracy  is  demonstrated  and  its  great  length  may 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  83 

and  must  be  insisted  upon ;  and  furthermore,  by  it  all 
other  astronomical  distances  and  magnitudes  are  fixed. 
If  its  probable  error  of  one  hundred  thousand  miles 
is  thought  to  be  too  great  to  allow  it  to  be  styled 
accurate,  what  would  be  said  of  an  error  of  one  and 
one  half  inches  in  the  measurement  of  a  building  fifty 
feet  long?  It  would  be  regarded  as  of  no  consequence, 
and  yet  it  would  be  greater  in  proportion  than  the 
other.  This  distance  is  far  more  accurately  known 
than  that  from  your  Capitol  to  the  court-house  of  any 
town  in  its  vicinity,  though  it  may  have  been  meas- 
ured and  traveled  over,  which  is  not  true  of  the  sun's 
distance.  The  distances  between  the  station  points 
in  a  geodetic  survey,  some  of  which  are  over  fifty 
miles  apart,  are  known  to  within  a  few  inches  and  are 
verified  by  several  independent  determinations,  and 
yet  they  were  never  measured,  and  can  not  be  to  any 
such  accuracy  over  such  hills,  valleys,  and  streams  as 
intervene. 

The  most  skeptical  may  test  the  greatness  of  this 
distance  for  himself  without  instruments,  without 
transits,  without  mathematics,  by  observing  the  dura- 
tion of  a  central  total  eclipse  of  the  moon.  The  rec- 
ords give  this  at  over  three  hours,  which  is  one  two 
hundred  and  twentieth  part  of  the  time  required  for 
the  moon  to  go  around  the  earth.  If  then  the  objector 
considers  "  the  earth  the  largest  thing  in  the  universe," 
he  must  have  its  shadow  where  the  moon  crosses  it 
of  at  least  the  same  diameter  as  the  earth  itself, 
though  it  is  really  much  less.  So  the  whole  orbit  of 
the  moon  must  be  two  hundred  and  twenty  times  the 
diameter  of  the  earth,  or  half  of  it  must  be  that  many 
times  the  easth's  radius ;  and  this  last  divided  by  three 
and  one  seventh  would  give  the  moon's  distance  from 


84  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

the  earth  about  280,000  miles.  Then  by  the  method 
already  suggested  he  can'  prove  with  a  pair  of  dividers 
that  the  sun  is  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  times 
as  far  away  as  the  moon,  which  more  than  makes  the 
great  distance. 

The  93,000,000  mile's  can  not  be  evaded,  and  hun- 
dreds of  things  are  accepted  as  facts  on  far  less  evi- 
dence. Our  standard  length,  the  foot-ruler,  as  used 
in  every-day  life,  is  less  accurately  fixed  than  is  this — 
the  foot-ruler  of  the  universe.  With  the  one  is  meas- 
ured the  great  earth,  with  the  other  the  astronomer 
measures  the  great  universe.  We  would  be  at  sea 
without  ours;"  he  can  tell  us  nothing  of  the  great 
structure  he  tries  to  grasp  without  his,  so  we  must 
allow  him  to  have  it. 

The  relative  distances  of  all  the  planets  having  been 
determined  long  ago  in  that  of  the  earth  from  the  sun 
as  unity,  their  distances  in.  miles  are  now  easily  ob- 
tained by  multiph'ing  b}^  93,000,000.  These  being 
known  in  miles,  magnitudes  of  the  planets  are  easily 
determined  in  the  same  unit.  As  already  stated,  the 
parallax  of  the  sun,  8.8",  means  the  earth's  radius 
subtends  that  angle  at  the  sun,  or  its  diameter  17.6". 
But  the  diameter  of  the  sun — and  any  one  can  meas- 
ure it — as  seen  from  the  earth,  is  about  32',  or  1920", 
and  is  therefore  nearly  no  times  the  diameter  of  the 
earth,  or  about  866,500  miles.  To  help  us  get  some 
conception  of  this  we  are  told  to  imagine  the  sun's 
center  placed  to  coincide  with  the  earth's,  and  its  sur- 
face everj'where  will  extend  more  than  200,000  miles 
beyond  the  monthlj'  orbit  of  the  moon.  How  can  we 
grasp  the  illustration?  It  is  too  big  for  finite  minds, 
as  is  almost  every  thing  in  the  great  universe.  Who 
then  will  estimate  the  power  of  the  Hand  that  holds 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  85 

and  guides  that  fiery  ball  through  the  trackless  ocean 
of  space?  Yet  we  shall  see  it  as  a  small  body  and  as 
much  lost  among  the  myriads  of  others  as  a  small 
star  among' the  rest. 

Their  distances  and  diameters  being  known,  the 
dimensions  of  all  the  planets  and  their  satellites  large 
enough  to  show  a  disk  may  be  d.etermined  by  a  method 
the  same  as  those  used  in  computing  the  dimensions 
of  the  sun.  Then  the  laws  of  gravitation  enable  the 
masses  of  these  bodies  to  be  found,  those  having 
moons  by  means  of  the  attractions  between  the  moon 
and  primary,  those  without,  by  means  of  the  disturb- 
ances each  produces  in  the  motions  of  one  or  more 
others.  By  measuring  these  attraction's  and  disturb- 
ances, and  knowing  the  distances  of  the  attracting 
and  disturbing  bodies,  the  relative  masses  are  made 
out,  and  from  their  relative  masses  to  the  mass  of  the 
earth,  whose  absolute  mass  is  known,  their  absolute 
masses  are  determined  by  a  simple  multiplication. 

Calling  the  density  of 'water  i,  that  of  the  earth  is 
5.6,  of  the  sun  1.4,  of  Mercury  12.5  (nearly  that  of 
mercury),  of  Venus  4.8,  of  Mars  4.0,  of  Jupiter  1.3,  of 
Saturn  0.7,  or  about  that  of  seasoned  wood,  of  Ura- 
nus 1.2,  and  of  Neptune  i.i.  These  present  a  strange 
variety.  When  the  diameters  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
are  found,  their  volumes,  by  the  principles  of  geome- 
try, are  known  to  be  proportional  to  the  cubes  of  these 
diameters.  The  volume  of  the  sun  is  thus  found  to 
be  more  than  one  and  one  third  million  times  greater 
than  the  volume  of  the  earth.  But  since  his  density 
is  onl}'  one  fourth  that  of  the  earth,  his  mass  is  only 
about  332,000  times  that  of  the  earth  ;  so  the  masses 
are  very  different  from  their  volumes.  If  we  divide 
the  mass  of  the  sun  into  one  million  equal  parts  and 


86  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

take  one  of  these  as  the  unit,  the  masses  of  the  plan- 
ets will  be:  Mercury,  3;  Mars,  3^^ ;  Venus,  23^^-2; 
Earth,  30^;  Uranus,  442)^ ;  Neptune,  516;  Saturn, 
2,856;  Jupiter,  9,543;  Sun,  1,000,000. 

Besides  these  major  planets  there  are  now  known 
about  250  smaller  ones,  called  planetoids,  with  diame- 
ters varying  between  ten  and  four  hundred  miles,  and 
their  mass  combined  less  perhaps  than  that  of  Mars. 
From  two  to  six  of  these  little  blocks  are  discovered 
every  year,  but  are  so  insignificant  that  little  attention 
is  bestowed  on  them.  All  their  orbits  are  between 
those  of  Mars  and  Jupiter,  and  most  of  them  can  be 
seen  only  with  the  large  telescopes. 

Of  the  secondary  bodies  called  moons,  or  satellites, 
twenty  are  now  known,  some  of  which  are  larger  than 
the  primaries,  Mercury  and  Mars.  Our  moon  is  nearly 
as  large  as  Mercury,  and  one  in  each  of  the  groups  of 
Jupiter  and  Saturn  are  nearly  as  large  as  Mars.  To 
this  class  of  bodies  belong  also  the  rings  of  Saturn, 
as  they  consist  of  great  belts  of  moons  so  close  to- 
gether as  to  appear  like  a  continuous  ring  of  matter. 
These,  with  his  eight  moons,  make  Saturn  one  of  the 
most  interesting  objects  in  the  whole  heavens. 

Still  another  class  of  bodies  called  comets  are  seen 
occasionally.  Some  of  them  are  of  vast  dimensions, 
though  of  insignificant  masses.  They  struggle  across 
the  heavens  in  a  lawless,  jack-o'-lantern-like  way  to 
the  great  admiration  of  the  few  and  the  terror  of  the 
many.  These  bodies  defy  all  attempts  to  discover 
what  and  how  they  are  and  do,  little  being  known  of 
them.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  that  have  con- 
sented to  their  periods  of  return  being  made  out, 
which  vary  from  three  and  a  quarter  to  thousands  of 
years,  they  seem  to  delight  to  show  themselves  when 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  87 

least  expected,  to  stalk  across  the  heavens  in  perfect 
contempt  for  the  laws  and  rules  of  routes  and  ways 
observed  by* the  more  dignified  members  of  the  solar 
family,  and  sometimes  defiantly  to  rub  around  and 
switch  their  tails  in  the  very  face  of  the  day-king,  and 
then  dart  away  into  space  as  if  his  gravity  clutches 
could  take  no  hold  upon  them.  They  change  their 
form,  figure,  and  dimensions  with  such  disregard  to 
studied  and  well-digested  theories  as  to  what  they  are 
and  what  they  should  be  and  do,  as  to  confine  all 
remarks  of  the  astronomer  to  what  they  have  done 
and  how  they  look,  leaving  the  prophecies  of  their 
future  and  the  conjectures  concerning  their  past  to 
those  having  less  at  stake.  What  are  they  ?  Why  do 
they  seem  to  obey  some  of  dame  nature's  prescribed 
laws  and  defy  others?  These  are  still  unanswered 
queries.  The  spectroscope  in  reply  to  the  first  indi- 
cates in  an  uncertain  way  hydrocarbon,  sodium,  and 
magnesium  without  defining  their  condition.  Kepler 
says:  "They  are  as  numerous  as  the  fish  in  the  sea, 
while,  however,  the  great  number  of  them  are  too 
small  for  the  powers  of  the  telescope."  Perhaps  many 
of  them  have  always  belonged  to  the  solar  system ; 
many,  no  doubt,  while  wandering  through  space  have 
been  captured  by  our  sun  or  one  of  his  subjects,  and 
have  been  tamed  into  willing  citizenship,  while  others 
coming  to  us  on  parabolic  or  hyperbolic  orbits,  as  they 
sometimes  seem  to  do,  are  only  transient  visitors,  since 
if  they  go  out  from  us  as  they  came,  they  go  upon  a 
track  that  never  returns  uppn  itself,  and  must  there- 
fore continue  out  and  out  until  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween the  territory  of  this  and  some  other  sun  is 
crossed. 

Still  another  set  of  bodies  called  meteors  should  be 


88  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

mentioned,  "whose  name  also  is  legion."  They  vary 
in  size  from  a  few  ounces  to  a  few  hundred  pounds. 
It  is  estimated  that  about  four  hundred  millions  of 
these  are  picked  up  by  the  earth  during  every  twenty- 
four  hours.  Most  of  them  give  us  no  notice  of  their 
arrival  except  by  a  long,  narrow  streak  of  light  which 
evinces  their  reduction  to  gases  that  fall  ultimately 
as  dust  to  the  earth.  The  zodiacal  light  is  supposed 
to  be  the  sunlight  reflected  from  a  great,  dense  ring 
of  these,  of  which  each  little  member,  as  if  aping  the 
planets,  travels  around  the  sun  in  as  perfect  obedience 
to  Kepler's  laws  as  if  it  filled  a  place  as  important  as 
that  of  the  great  Jupiter.  As  to  how  these  myriads 
of  little  things  came  to  be  where  they  are,  and  what 
their  destiny  is,  perhaps  there  can  be  but  one  conject- 
ure— some  are  the  debris,  the  chips  and  spalls  left 
over  in  the  manufacture  of  their  far  greater  and  more 
honored  kinsmen,  the  planets,  and  their  destin)-  is  to 
be  ultimately  gathered  up  by  the  planets.  There  is 
also  conclusive  evidence  that  some  are  the  cold,  dead 
fragments  of  dying  and  decaying  comets. 

Having  now  noticed  all  the  various  classes  of  bod- 
ies in  the  solar  system,  and  their  variety  in  magnitude, 
condition,  and  character,  it  is  just  as  wonderful  to 
contemplate  the  vast  space  through  which  they  are 
distributed  and  the  variety  in  their  movements.  Since 
the  mass  of  the  sun  is  so  many  times  .greater  than  all 
the  rest  of  the  system,  it  would  be  absurd  to  claim 
that  any  other  body  could  be  the  center  around  which 
all  the  rest  revolve.  It  would  indeed  be  a  fertile 
imagination  that  could  conceive  by  what  magic 
power  the  earth  could  sway  around  its  center  the  sun 
three  hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  times  its  own 
mass. 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  89 

The  Copernican  system,  making  the  sun  the  great 
center  around  which  all  the  rest  with  their  systems 
of  moons  revolve,  follows  as  a  necessitj'  if  the  relative 
dimensions  of  the  sun  and  the  planets  are  rightly 
appreciated,  whatever  the  appearances  ma}'  be  to  the 
contrary.  If  a  model  should  be  made  of  the  system, 
representing  the  sun  by  a  globe  two  feet  in  diameter 
and  reducing  all  dimensions  by  the  same  scale,  a  circle 
five  miles  in  diameter  would  be  required  in  which  to 
set  it  up.  Some  of  the  bodies  would  be  smaller  than 
grains  of  sand,  and  even  Jupiter  would  be  a  ball  only 
two  inches  in  diameter.  If  the  model  were  set  up  in 
an  open  plane  on  the  earth  and  started  upon  move- 
ments of  the  same  character,  and  with  periods  propor- 
tional to  those  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  whole  sys- 
tem would  doubtless  be  as  long  in  being  discovered  as 
the  actual  one  has  been.  And  if  there  was  nothing 
else  besides  the  representatives  of  the  system  in  the 
circle  of  five  miles,  it  would  seem  absolutely  vacant. 
Now  conceive  the  model  sun  expanded  into  the  real, 
and  all  else  enlarged  to  the  dimensions  of  the  actual 
system,  would  the  real  space  occupied  be  less  vacant 
in  proportion?  It  is  absurd  to  talk  of  the  waste  of 
space,  however,  when  its  dimensions  are  infinite. 

Starting  from  the  sun,  which  turns  on  its  axis  once 
in  twenty-five  or  twenty-seven  daj-s,  we  find  the  order, 
distances,  and  periods  as  follows : 


Planet. 

Miles. 

Period. 

Velocity 

Mercur}-, 

'.6 

mill 

ons. 

88  days. 

30  miles. 

Veni;s, 

67 

' 

225       '"' 

23        .. 

Earth, 

93 

' 

365       " 

18;^    " 

Mars, 

141 

' 

6S7       " 

15        " 

Jupiter, 

4S3 

' 

11.86  years. 

8 

Saturn, 

886 

' 

29>^    " 

6       " 

Uranus, 

1,800 

' 

84       " 

4K   " 

Neptune, 

2,800 

' 

164       " 

3K   " 

90  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

From  Mercury  the  sun  would  appear  in  diameter 
two  and  one  half  times  as  great  as  at  the  earth,  while 
his  heat  in  an  atmosphere  like  ours  would  be  nearly 
seven  times  as  great,  but  at  the  other  extreme  to  Nej)- 
tune  the  sun  appears  only  one  thirtieth  of  his  diam- 
eter to  us  and  his  heat  is  only  one  nine  hundredth  as 
great  as  ours. 

The  great  central,  God-appointed  king  of  day  dwarfs 
every  thing  else  in  the  solar  system.  Concentrate  all 
the  planets,  moons,  planetoids,  comets,  and  meteors 
of  the  solar  system  except  the  sun  in  one  single  body, 
and  it  would  make  only  one  seven  hundredth  part  of 
the  sun's  mass,  while  Jupiter  is  about  two  and  one 
half  times  as  great  as  all  other  bodies  together  except 
the  sun.  All  the  worlds  under  the  sway  of  this  "  bride- 
groom coming  out  of  his  chamber  and  rejoicing  as  a 
strong  man  to  run  a  race,"  are  no  more  hinderance  or 
burden  to  his  march  through  space  than  would  be  a 
four-ounce  weight  to  the  contestant  on  the  race-course. 
His  light  so  far  exceeds  that  from  any  artificial  source 
that  all  except  one  appear  absolutely  dark  when  held 
between  him  and  the  eye.  If  the  atmosphere  was  out 
of  the  way  and  a  sheet  of  ice  held  so  that  his  rays 
would  fall  upon  it  perpendicularly  and  be  all  absorbed, 
the5^  would  melt  a  thicknes^  of  fourteen  and  one  half 
feet  in  one  day.  With  the  atmosphere,  the  obliquity 
of  his  rays,  and  the  fact  that  he  is  half  the  time  below 
the  hori.zon,  his  heat  is  sufficient  to  melt  a  thickness 
of  one  hundred  feet  per  year.  The  temperature  of 
his  surface  exceeds  many  times  that  of  our  hottest  fur- 
naces, and  his  interior  must  be  at  a  still  higher  tem- 
perature. Short-sighted  humanity  regards  him  as 
made  solely  to  bless  earth  and  its  life-peopled  surface 
with  his  light  and  heat,  and  yet  very  few  ever  think 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  91 

how  much  is  derived  from  the  sun.  .The  fires  that 
drive  our  engines  owe  their  energj-  to  him.  The 
strength  of  the  animals  that  work  for  us,  the  waters 
of  our  springs,  the  food  we  eat,  all  the  things  that 
make  physical  life  what  it  is,  come  either  directly  or 
indirectly  from  the  fires  of  the  sun.  Is  the  warning 
strange  then:  "  Take  therefore  good  heed  .  .  .  lest 
thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  when  thou 
seest  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  stars  .  .  .  thou 
shouldst  be  driven  to  worship  them."  The  Bible 
symbol  of  a  calamity  is,  "The  sun  was  obscured," 
etc.  Let  the  hand  that  made  the  sun  lock  out  his 
light  and  heat  from  earth  but  a  few  days,  and  the 
frosty  fingers  of  death  would  lock  every  pulse  of  life 
in  icy  fetters  forever. 

An  exceedingly  puzzling  question  is:  "  How  is  this 
supply  of  heat  kept  up?"  If  by  combustion,  where 
does  the  fuel  come  from  ?  The  impossibility  of  this 
theory  is  evident  before  the  question  is  finished.  If 
the  fall  of  meteors  into  the  svin  is  suggested,  their 
number  can  not  possibly  be  sufficient,  otherwise  their 
presence  in  sufficient  numbers  would  be  manifested 
by  disturbing  the  planets  Mercury  and  Venus  in  their 
orbits.  The  one  theory  that  is  at  all  tenable  is  that 
the  contraction  of  the  sun  under  the  action  of  its  own 
weight  is  the  only  adequate  source  of  the  requisite 
supply  of  heat.  The  calculation  has  been  made  and 
it  is  found  that  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  annual 
diminution  of  its  diameter  is  sufiicient.  This  rate  in 
the  age  of  the  human  race  would  diminish  the  diame- 
ter so  little  that  it  would  scarcely  be  perceptible. 

Think  how  little  of  this  light  and  heat  is  caught  by 
the  vv'idely  scattered  members  of  the  solar  family.  If  all 
they  have  received  for  hundreds  of  years  were  instantly 


92  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

thrown  back  into  the  sun,  perhaps  we  w^ould  hardly 
recognize  any  increase  in  his  temperature.  What  must 
be  said  of  this  great  apparent  waste?  Or  first,  rather 
who  will  undertake  to  prove  there  is  any  waste?  Even 
of  those  light-ra5's  that  reach  the  earth  only  an  infini- 
tesimal part  are  utilized  by  the  eyes  of  the  animal  king- 
dom. Are  the  others  reaching  it  lost?  It  would  be  a 
very  narrow  and  selfish  viev\^  of  the  economy  of  the 
heavens  to  say  that  great  fire-ball, is  a  mere  hearth- 
stone and  lantern  for  this  earth  and  her  sister  planets. 
The  earth's  one  two  thousand  millionth  part  of  his 
light  and  heat  would  scarcely  be  missed  by  him.  Not 
more  than  one  two  hundred  millionth  part  of  his 
influences  even  starts  out  toward  the  entire  solar  fam- 
ily. Is  the  rest  lost?  These  influences  go  out  in 
straight  lines  forever,  and  therefore  can  never  return 
to  replenish  his  wasting  energies.  As  the  light  and 
heat  of  the  stars,  so  his  are  ever  tracking  the  same 
course  on  w^hich  they  started  until  they  reach  their 
destination.  Even  some  rays  which  strike  us  and 
earth  do  not  end  their  mission  here,  but  are  reflected 
off"  again  into  space.  We  read  some  of  the  history  of 
the  stars  through  these  winged  messengers,  and  why 
may  not  intelligences  of  keener  eye  and  swifter  and 
more  ethereal  movements,  b}'  watching  ahead  of  these 
reflected  rays,  be  reading  the  whole  drarna  of  human 
history  as  it  is  now  coming  up  to  them?  Is  it  impos- 
sible that  w^e  may  some  day  be  among  these  same 
intelligences,  reading  over  again  our  honorable  or 
.shameful  part  in  this  drama? 

How  science  fails  us  when  we  would  strain  our 
strength  to  know  these  things  and  follow  out  the  hints 
thus  thrust  at  us!  She  tells  us  of  the  iron  grip  of 
gravit}',  of  the  dazzling  brilliancy,  gaudy  hues,  and 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  93 

the  chemical  properties  of  the  glorious  sunlight,  of 
the  life-giving  cheer  of  his  heat  raj's,  and  of  the  mys- 
tical electric  thrills  that  come  form  the  fire-ball  king 
of  day,  and  is  this  all  that  can  be  told?  Can  two  or 
three  little  blunted,  feeble,  finite  senses  of  a  still  more 
feeble,  finite  being  perceive  all  the  various  influences 
scattered  from  that  seething,  tossing  vulcan-shop? 
Impossible !  We  know  comparatively  nothing  of  what 
is  under  our  feet,  though  we  may  handle  and  turn  it 
in  every  phase ;  and  how  can  we  pretend  to  know  of 
that  which  dwarfs  earth  to  nothingness  and  is  millions 
of  miles  above  our  heads. 

Thus  far  only  an  imperfect  outline  of  some  of  the 
leading  features  and  characteristics  of  the  solar  s^'stem 
— its  distances  and  magnitudes — have  been  consid- 
ered, and  if  these  are  regarded  too  great,  what  will  be 
said  of  the  distances  to  the  stars?  To  the  natural  e3'e 
observations  the  so-called  fixed  stars  seem  always 
to  occupy  exactly  the  same  relative  positions,  and 
indeed  such  observers  of  a  thousand  years  ago  if  pres- 
ent now  would  see  the  stars  sensibly  as  they  saw  them 
then.  The  refined  methods  of  astronomy,  however, 
in  our  day  have  proved  that  the  stars  are  really  in 
motion — so  slight  though  that  it  would  require  thou- 
sands of  years  to  make  such  changes  in  their  relative 
positions  as  could  be  detected  b}^  the  unassisted  eye. 
The  positions  of  the  stars  are  designated  in  star  cata- 
logues by  what  is  called  right  ascensions  and  declina- 
tions, which  are  exactly  analogous  to  longitudes  and 
latitudes  of  places  upon  the  earth.  Observations  from 
time  to  time  upon  the  stars  show  that  these  co-ordi 
nates  are  changing  a  very  little  every  year,  some  more 
and  some  less,,  some  in  one  direction  and  some  in 
another.     The  arreatest  of  these   annual   chanofes   is 


94  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

seven  seconds  of  arc.  Many  change  only  a  small 
fraction  of  a  second. 

As  a  rule  the  brighter  stars  are  found  to  have  the 
greatest  proper  motions ;  there  are  so  many  exceptions 
to  this,  however,  that  it  can  hardly  be  called  a  rule. 
The  greater  proper  motions  of  some  stars  were  sup- 
posed to  be  due  only  to  apparent  proximity  to  us,  and 
hence  astronomers  have  made  observations  on  some 
of  this  class  to  ascertain  the  fact. 

The  star  a.  Centauri,  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt, 
has  been  found  b}'  such  observations  to  be  by  far  the 
nearest  fixed  star  to  our  solar  system.  This  is  a  star, 
or  rather  a  binary  star,  of  the  southern  hemisphere, 
so  far  south  that  it  does  not  rise  above  the  horizon  of 
our  latitude,  so  if  we  wished  a  view  of  our  nearest 
star  neighbor  we  would  need  to  go  several  hundred 
miles  farther  south. 

The  distance  of  a  star  is  ascertained  by  what  is 
called  its  stellar  parallax,  which  differs  from  the  par- 
allaxes of  the  solar  system.  In  the  latter  the  earth's 
radius  is  the  unit ;  in  the  former  the  mean  radius  of 
the  earth's  orbit  or  the  mean  distance  to  the  sun  is 
the  unit — that  is,  the  parallax  of  a  star  is  the  angle  at 
the  star  between  two  lines  drawn  from  it,  one  to  the 
sun  and  the  other  to  the  earth,  when  the  line  joining 
them  is  at  right  angles  to  either  of  these  lines.  We 
measure  our  houses  with  a  foot-ruler  and  distances 
over  our  State  in  miles,  but  there  is  a  far  greater  rela- 
tive difference  in  the  Unit  of  length  used  in  our  astro- 
nomical home — the  solar  system — and  that  used  to 
express  its  distance  from  the  stars  or  other  suns. 

There  are  two  methods  of  deducing  stellar  paral- 
laxes which  need  to  be  understood  to  appreciate  the 
results  flowing   from   them.     Station  an  astronomer 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  95 

at  the  observatory  near  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  from 
which  the  star  a.  Centauri  can  be  observed,  and  let 
him  measure  with  the  best  instruments  very  carefully 
on  several  nights  in  succession  the  exact  distance  the 
star  crosses  the  meridian,  or  north  and  south  line, 
from  the  point  directly  over  his  head,  called  its  zenith 
distance.  This  he  can  get  to  within  one  hundredth 
of  a  second  by  taking  the  mean  of  several  measure- 
ments. Six  months  afterward,  or  when  the  earth  is 
on  the  other  side  of  its  orbit  and  in  exactly  the  oppo- 
site direction  from  the  sun,  let  him  make  a  similar  set 
of  measurements  on  the  same  star  and  take  their 
mean.  One  of  these  sets  of  course  will  have  to  be 
made  in  the  day-time,  and  both  should  be  made  in  the 
times  of  the  year  when  the  line  from  the  earth  to  the 
sun  is  perpendicular  to  that  from  the  sun  to  the  star, 
which  times  are  easily  determined.  Now  the  differ- 
ence between  the  two  measurements  divided  by  two 
will  be  the  stellar  parallax  of  that  star — that  is,  it  will 
be  the  angle  at  the  star  made  by  two  lines  drawn  from 
it,  one  to  the  sun  and  one  to  the  earth. 

The  other  method  of  this  problem  is :  Find  if  possible 
a  star  near  enough  to  that  whose  parallax  is  desired 
to  be  in  the  same  field  of  view  of  the  telescope  with  it 
and  yet  known  to  be  immensely  beyond  it,  and  meas- 
ure their  distances  apart  every  time  they  can  be  seen 
during  one  year.  Find  from  these  measurements  the 
greatest  difference  of  their  directions  and  divide  it  by 
two  for  the  stellar  parallax.  These  are  mere  outlines 
of  the  \x<o  methods;  the  details  and  reductions  must 
all  be  omitted. 

There  have  been  thirteen  different  determinations 
of  the  parallax  of  «  Centauri  by  one  or  the  other  of 
these  methods,  made  by  some  of  the  best  astronomers 


96  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

of  the  world,  and  the  mean  of  their  measurements  is 
0.93" — less  than  one  second — which  means  a  line  93,- 
000,000  miles  long  subtends  an  angle  at  this  star  less 
than  one  second.  A  recent  determination,  considered 
more  accurate  than  any  before  made,  makes  it  0.75." 

Returning  to  our  illustration  of  the  ball,  whose 
radius  of  one  mile  was  found  to  subtend  an  angle  of 
one  degree  at  the  distance  of  57.29578  miles,  if  we 
remove  it  3,600  times  as  far,  or  206,265  miles,  it  will 
subtend  an  angle  of  but  one  second.  Now  if  we 
make  its  radius  93,000,000  of  miles  long,  it  will 
have  to  be  removed  93,000,000  times  yet  farther,  or 
over  nineteen  and  one  fifth  millions  of  millions  of 
miles  away  to  subtend  still  an  angle  of  but  one  sec- 
ond. But  the  parallax  of  a  Centauri  is  0.93",  or  less 
than  one  second,  which  requires  it  to  be  still  farther 
av/ay,  or  nearly  twenty  and  one  half  millions  of  mill- 
ions of  miles  distant  from  us,  and  it  can  not  be  less.  If 
in  error  at  all,  this  calculation  is  on  the  safe  side.  The 
child  can  do  the  "ciphering"  in  this  arithmetical 
problem  as  w^ell  and  as  intelligently'  as  the  astrono- 
mer, and  both  will  reach  the  same  result.  Perhaps  it 
may  be  denominated  incomprehensible  and  therefore 
absurd.  If  that  word  stakes  out  the  boundary  line  of 
our  creed  in  any  thing,  its  field  will  have  one  virtue — 
any  one  can  survey  it.  One  million  of  miles  is  incom- 
prehensible ;  so  is  a  million  of  any  thing  to  us — except 
perhaps  a  million  of  dollars.  You  may  call  it  non- 
sense— call  it  any  thing  you  please — but  the  man  does 
not  live  and  never  has  who  can  make  any  impression 
upon  the  bulwark  of  logic  surrounding  and  support- 
ing it.  "  Two  and  two  make  four  "  rests  upon  no  bet- 
ter basis. 

This  is  not  only  the  nearest  star  to  us,  but  so  far 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  97 

the  nearest  that  no  other  is  known  to  be  within  nearly- 
double  its  distance.  From  all  the  work  of  the  great 
astronomers  in  this  direction  only  between  twenty 
and  thirty  stars  have  been  shown  to  have  any  paral- 
lax, and  of  these  about  a  dozen  or  fifteen  are  visible 
in  our  latitude.  Of  these  the  next  nearest  to  us  are 
61  Cygni  of  the  fifth  magnitude  and  one  without  a 
name  in  the  constellation  of  the  Great  Bear.  Their 
parallaxes  are  about  0.51",  and  hence  their  distances 
are  about  thirty-eight  millions  of  millions  of  miles. 

Castor  and  that  bright  star  Sirius  have  parallaxes 
less  than  one  fifth  of  a  second,  and  their  distances 
therefore  are  about  one  hundred  millions  of  millions 
of  miles,  a  Lyrae,  or  the  bright  star  Vega;  is  distant 
one  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of  millions  of  miles 
and  the  Pole  star  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
millions  of  miles.  The  remainder  of  the  dozen  are 
not  so  well  determined  and  are  less  important. 

The  average  distance  of  all  the  stars  of  the  first 
magnitude — about  twenty  in  number — is  still  not 
known,  but  the  estimated  parallax  of  at  least  half  of 
them  is  less  than  one  tenth  of  a  second,  which  cor- 
responds to  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and 
ninety-two  millions  of  millions  of  miles.  Of  the  thir- 
teen of  this  class  visible  in  our  latitude,  more  than 
one  half  have  been  found  to  have  no  measurable  par- 
allax with  the  best  instruments  and  most  accurate 
modes  of  observation.  There  are  more  than  twenty 
or  thirty  stars  that  have  a  sensible  parallax,  but  only 
about  that  number  have  been  discovered  and  meas- 
ured. Of  all  the  millions  of  stars  visible  through  the 
best  telescopes,  it  is  estimated  that  not  one  hundred 
will  ever  be  found  to  have  a  measurable  parallax. 
This  means  that  the, stars  are  so  far  away  that  the 
7 


98  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

whole  orbit  of  the  earth  appears  to  them  only  as  a 
point,  and  to  the  great  mass  of  them  a  sphere  the  size 
of  the  whole  solar  system,  vast  as  it  is  to  us,  is  utterly 
inappreciable.  Our  long  measuring  line  has  failed  us 
very  soon.  Having  carried  us  out  to  only  about 
twenty  or  thirty  stars  it  leaves  us  to  conjecture  other 
and  vaster  distances  by  contrasting  the  relative  bright- 
ness of  these  few  known  stars  with  the  others.  Were 
all  the  stars  of  the  same  magnitude  and  of  the  same 
intrinsic  brightness,  and  their  apparent  differences  of 
magnitudes  the  result  only  of  their  different  dis- 
tances, then  these  could  be  determined  approximately. 
But  they  are  known  to  be  very  different  in  these  re- 
spects. Of  the  few  whose  distances  have  been  deter- 
mined, some  of  the  smallest  are  much  nearer  than  the 
largest  and  brightest. 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  we  may  not  form 
some  idea  of  their  relative  distances  from  their  mag- 
nitudes, as  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  aver- 
age of  these  for  the  stars  of  any  magnitude  bears 
some  proportion  to  the  number  by  which  it  is  desig- 
nated. It  is  customary  to  express  these  vast  distances 
in  the  time  it  takes  light  to  pass  over  them.  Light 
moves  at  the  rate  of  186,330  miles  per  second.  Hence, 
of  the  stars  whose  distances  have  been  determined, 
from  Centauri,  the  nearest  to  us,  light  is  over  three 
and  one  half  years  coming  to  us,  while  from  the  most 
distant,  a  Draconis,  it  requires  one  hundred  and  thirty 
years.  Light  requires  thirty-five  years  to  traverse  the 
mean  distance  of  stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  and 
seven  hundred  years  for  that  of  stars  of  the  eighth 
magnitude.  That  wonderful  man,  Herschel,  who  pen- 
etrated farther  into  creation  than  man  had  ever  done 
before,  estimated  seven  thousand  years  as  the  time 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  99 

required  for  light  to  reach  us  from  the  extreme  bound- 
aries of  the  universe. 

'  The  dimensions  of  the  universe  are  so  great,  the 
light  coming  to  us  from  its  overwhelming  distances  is 
so  dim,  and  our  ideas  of  the  style  of  its  architecture 
so  imperfect,  that  the  great  astronomers  can  not  pre- 
tend to  give  more  than  a  rough  outline  of  it.  Some 
features  they  can  describe  with  a  near  approach  to 
certainty,  others  only  with  a  greater  or  less  degree  of 
probability,  while  others  are  presented  with  no  better 
basis  than  inferences  and  conjectures.  These  outlines 
by  Professor  Newcomb  are  substantially  as  follows  : 

I  St.  The  great  mass  of  stars  is  spread  out  in  or  near 
a  widely  extended  plane  passing  through  the  Milky 
Way,  in  outline  like  a  flat  disk,  with  diameter  eight  or 
ten  times  its  thickness. 

2d.  The  stars  in  this  space  are  collected  into  irregu- 
lar clusters  numbering  from  tw.o  to  many  thousands, 
with  vacant  spaces  between  and  no  definite  outline. 

3d.  Our  sun,  with  its  planets,  is  near  the  center  of 
this  star-bed,  so  that  we  see  nearly  the  same  number 
of  stars  in  opposite  directions,  more  or  less  as  these 
coincide  more  or  less  with  its  plane. 

4th.  The  stars  seen  by  the  naked  eye  are  scattered 
in  space  nearly  uniformly,  except  a  few  clusters — 
Pleiades,  Coma  Berenices,  etc. 

5th.  Without  definite  boundaries  and  full  of  clus- 
ters and  vacant  places,  it  is  as  impossible  to  assign 
definite  limits  to  the  star-bed  as  it  would  be  to  a  cloud 
of  dust. 

6th.  On  each  side  of  the  star-bed  the  boundaries  are 
ju.st  as  impossible  to  be  defined  as  its  edges,  from  ig- 
norance of  distances  and  from  a  gradual  diminution 
of  density. 


loo  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

7th.  The  nebular  regions  are  on  each  side  of  the 
star-bed,  and  very  few  nebulas  are  found  near  and 
within  it. 

A  criticism  on  the  third  of  these  conclusions  sug- 
gests itself  to  any  one.  We  can  not  conclude  that  the 
sun  occupies  the  center  simply  because  our  telescopes 
can  see  the  same  distance  in  all  directions.  But  these 
are  the  results  of  the  life-work  of  such  astronomers 
as  Herschel,  Struve,  and  others,  and  are  infinitely 
more  easily  criticized  than  improved. 

As  to  nebulae  little  is  known.  They  are  irregular 
masses  of  cloud-like  or  diffused  light  distributed 
through  the  heavens.  Some,  by  the  aid  of  the  tele- 
scope and  spectroscope,  are  proved  to  be  only  masses 
of  gas ;  others,  by  the  very  large  telescopes,  are  seen 
to  be  clusters  of  stars,  while  others,  by  the  highest 
powers  of  the  telescope,  appear  as  gases,  but  by  the 
spectroscope  seem  to  be  star-clusters,  and,  if  so,  of 
numbers  overwhelming.  Their  forms  are  various, 
and  the  question  still  open  is  whether  those  known  to 
be  star-clusters  really  belong  to  our  stellar  system,  or> 
whether  they  con.stitute  other  stellar  systems  like  ours 
and  entirely  separated  from  it.  The  latter  is  the  pop- 
ular idea,  especially  with  the  lecturers.  One  serious 
objection,  however,  is  if  they  were  other  galaxies  or 
universes  outside  of  ours  they  should  be  found  as 
abundant  in  one  direction  as  another,  which'  is  not 
the  fact,  and  therefore  the  astronomers  favor  the  for- 
mer idea. 

A  specially  interesting  inquiry  has  been.  How  does 
our  sun  compare  in  magnitude  with  the  stars?  The 
curious  result  is  that  he  is  a  star  less  than  the  aver- 
age, and  if  placed  at  the  distance  of  the  stars  would 
twinkle   with   as   little   significance  as   those  of  the 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  loi 

third  or  fourth  magnitudes.  What  an  overwhelming 
thought  this  thrusts  upon  us — that  all  the  thirty  or 
fifty  millions  of  stars  are  suns,  each  with  his  system 
of  planets  like  ours,  and  each  isolated  from  all  the 
rest  in  the  same  way!  This  doubtless  is  the  true 
idea.  Indeed,  some  of  these  systems  are  shown  by 
the  great  telescopes  to  be  systems  of  suns,  as  in  the 
case  of  binary  stars,  the  smaller  revolving  around  the 
larger;  and  a  significant  fact  is  that  the  two  stars  near- 
est to  us  are  of  this  class.  No  doubt  this  was  the  case 
with  our  solar  system  in  its  earlier  histor}-,  when 
Jupiter  was  a  small  sun  giving  forth  his  own  light 
and  heat. 

The  solar  system  is  so  orderly  and  beautiful  a  struct- 
ure, every  member  keeping  so  accurately  its  own 
orbit  through  countless  revolutions  by  a  constant  bal- 
ancing of  the  gravitational  and  centrifugal  velocities 
that  analogy  suggests  the  natural  query,  Do  these 
millions  of  suns  and  clusters  scattered  through  space 
constitute  a  great  and  grand  system  of  a  like  orderly 
structure,  and,  if  so,  what  is  it?  This  is  the  broadest 
question  the  study  of  the  stars  can  suggest.  Is  our 
system,  which  is  but  one  among  unnumbered  millions, 
a  model  of  this  structure?  Some  astronomers  and  di- 
vines have  thought  so,  and  have  tried  to  point  out  the 
position  of  the  great  center  around  which  all  else  is 
made  to  circle  forever,  and  find  in  it  the  throne  of 
God  and  heaven ;  and  "the  idea  is  a  grand  and  capti- 
vating one."  All  the  careful  researches  of  Kant, 
Lambert,  the  Herschels,  and  all  their  illustrious  suc- 
cessors have  never  reached  even  an  approximate  so- 
lution of  the  problem.  In  every  direction  we  are 
brought  face  to  face  with  "the  infinite  in  space  and 
time."     "It  is  not  known  what  the  universe  is  to-day, 


ft)2  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

nor  what  causes  are  modifying  it  from  age  to  age,  and 
all  the  light  on  it  are  some  faint  glimmerings  through 
boundless  darkness."  Generation  after  generation 
adds  a  little  more  to  the  insufficient  store  of  informa- 
tion, but  the  question  is  without  doubt  beyond  the 
ken  of  the  too  finite  inhabitant  of  this  planet.  As 
already  stated,  the  stars  move,  and  in  a  period  of  ten 
thousand  of  j^ears  quite  a  number  of  the  brighter  ones 
would  be  seen  to  have  changed  their  places  very  con- 
siderably, but  it  would  take  one  hundred  thousand 
years  to  change  materially  the  aspect  of  the  constella- 
tions, so  slow  is  the  relative  rate.  As  far  as  the  mo- 
tions have  been  observed,  and  as  far  as  they  can  be  for 
centuries,  they  take  place,  and  will  continue  to  take 
place,  in  perfectly  straight  lines.  Hence,  if  each  star 
is  moving  on  some  orbit,  it  is  .so  immense  that  no 
curvature  has  been  discovered  since'  the  time  accurate 
measurements  for  the  positions  of  the  stars  began  to 
be  made.  Not  the  slightest  weight  of  evidence  can  be 
given  from  the  whole  range  of  astronomical  research 
to  prove  that  Alcyone,  of  the  seven  stars,  is  the  great 
center,  as  suggested  bj^  one.  From  the  true  point  of 
view  this  is  entirely  a  baseless  speculation.  If  there 
is  any  regularity  in  the  motions  of  the  stars  as  to  di- 
rection or  rate,  observations  with  accurate  instruments 
and  methods  are  confined  to  far  too  short  a  period  to 
discover  it.  By  a  kind  of  average  of  directions  it  is 
found  that  the  sun  moves  toward  a  point  in  the  con- 
stellation Hercules,  and  at  the  rate  of  about  one  third 
of  a  second  every  year.  There  are  instances  of  mo- 
tions of  clusters  and  groups  in  a  general  direction  in- 
dependent of  their  relative  motions,  which  Mr.  Proctor 
calls  "star  drift,"  and  he  gives  as  examples  the  Great 
Bear  and  the  Pleiades. 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  103 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  cases  illustrating  irregu- 
larity and  rate  of  motion  is  that  of  the  star  1830 
Groombridge,  which  moves  every  year  over  seven 
seconds.  Its  parallax  being  one  tenth  of  a  second,  its 
motion  every  year  is  therefore  seventy  times  the  dis- 
tance of  the  earth  from  the  sun,  if  its  motion  is  at 
right  angles  to  the  line  in  which  we  see  it,  but  if  ob- 
lique it  is  greater.  Its  velocity,  then,  is  over  two 
hundred  miles  per  second.  A  fair  estimate  of  the 
gravitating  force  of  the  fifty  millions  of  stars  in  the 
univer.se  has  been  made  by  Professor  Newcomb,  and 
to  allow  its  full  effect  upon  this  star  he  estimated  the 
whole  force  to  have  been  exerted  upon  it  from  a  point 
at  an  infinite  distance  all  the  way  to  the  center  of  the 
system,  and  the  velocity  it  could  impress  he  finds  to 
be  only  twenty-five  miles  per  second;  and,  vice  versa, 
if  a  body  were  projected  from  this  center  with  that 
velocity  all  the  stars  in  the  universe  could  not  stop  it, 
but  it  would  fly  off  into  infinite  space,  never  to  re- 
turn. This  velocity,  however,  is  only  one  eighth  of 
that  of  1830  Groombridge,  and  by  the  law  of  veloci- 
ties from  gravity  its  rate  must  arise  from  a  mass  sixty- 
four  times  as  great  as  that  of  our  universe.  Where, 
then,  did  it  get  its  break-neck  speed?  Not  in  our  uni- 
verse, nor  can  it  belong  to  it  if  what  we  see  of  it  is 
all ;  since  it  is  impossible  for  that  visible  to  us  to  stop 
it  or  bend  it  from  its  course  before  it  will  have  passed 
beyond  its  limit.  It  is  called  the  "  runaway  star,"  now 
passing  through  our  system  for  the  first  and  last  time. 
Arcturus,  having  a  velocity  of  fifty  miles  per  second, 
is  in  a  similar  condition.  These  and  similar  stars 
settle  Ihe  question  of  the  center  of  the  universe  by 
showing  that  if  it  has  one  it  must  be  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  greatest  telescopes,  and  so,  if  all  the  stars 


I04  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

belong  to  one  system  or  universe,  the  part  we  see  of 
it  with  the  same  telescopes  is  a  very  small  fraction  of 
the  whole. 

As  to  the  present  or  future  extent  of  our  knowledge 
of  the  universe  of  God  or  of  his  universes,  if  we  must 
so  speak,  it  or  they  will  ever  be  to  us  practically  in- 
finite in  magnitude  as  he  is  infinite  in  greatness. 
Furthermore,  is  it  possible  to  think  of  infinite  creative 
power  without  thinking  of  an  infinite  creation  in  evi- 
dence of  it  ?  Every  increase  of  power  thus  far  in  the 
telescope  simply  extends  the  visible  limits  of  the  in- 
visible limitless ;  therefore,  if  we  could  go  to  the  ap- 
parent utmost  boundary  in  any  direction,  would  not 
the  same  infinity  surround  as  when  we  started?  "  The 
spirit  of  man  acheth  with  this  infinity.  Insufferable  is 
the  glory  of  God.  Let  me  lie  down  in  the  grave  and 
hide  me  from  the  persecution  of  the  infinite,  for  end 
I  see  there  is  none.  End  there  is  none  to  the  universe 
of  God!  L/Ol  there  is  no  beginning."  "Canst  thou 
by  searching  find  out  God?  Can'st  thou  find  out  the 
Almighty  to  perfection?  It  is  as  'high  as  heaven. 
What  canst  thou  do?  Deeper  than  hell.  What, canst 
thou  know?" 

The  enthusiast  sometimes  says  man's  wonderful 
knowledge  has  mastered  all  the  secrets  of  the  universe 
overhead,  and  with  the  microscope  has  completely  ex- 
plored the  other  universe  beneath  our  feet,  which  is 
about  as  far  from  the  actual  facts  as  are  the  conclu- 
sions of  the  dignified  insect  swaying  in  the  wind  on 
the  tallest  weed  of  his  ten-acre  meadow -when  he 
sings,  "What  I  see  and  know  of  earth  is  all  there  is 
to  know."  Man's  presumption  has  even  attempted 
to  build  up  out  of  nothingness,  by  spontaneous  gen- 
erations  and   evolutions,  both-  these  universes  with 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads?  105 

their  peopling  millions,  and  thus  has  tried  in  vain  to 
eliminate  the  Great  Evolutionist.  Job  made  as  fool- 
ish a  mistake  once,  and  God  said  to  him:  "Gird  up 
now  thy  loins  like  a  man,  for  I  will  demand  of  thee, 
and  answer  me.  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  earth?  Declare  if  thou  hast  under- 
standing  Who  laid  the  corner-stone  thereof, 

when  the  morning  stars  sang  together  and  all  the  sons 
of  God  shouted  for  joy?  Hast  thou  perceived  the 
breadth  of  the  earth  ?  Declare  if  thou  knowest  it  all. 
■Where  is  the  way  where  light  dwelleth?  And  as  for 
darkness,  where  is  the  place  thereof,  ....  that 
thou  shouldst  know  the  paths  to  the  house  thereof? 
Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet  influence  of  Pleiades,  or 
loose  the  bands  of  Orion?  Canst  thou  bring  forth 
Mazzaroth  in  his  season  ?  Canst  thou  guide  Arcturus 
and  his  sons?  Knowest  thou  the  ordinances  of 
heaven  ?  Canst  thou  set  the  dominion  thereof  in  the 
earth?  Will  thou  fill  the  appetite  of  the  young  lions? 
Who  provideth  the  raven  his  food  when  his  young 
ones  cry  unto  God?  Shall  he  that  contendeth  with 
the  Almighty  instruct  him?  He  that  reproveth  God 
let  him  answer  it-" 

But  the  utilitarian  query  meets  one  here  as  else- 
where, What  profit  in  all  these  brain-puzzling  in- 
quiries? Much  every  wa}',  but  the  Bible  shall  answer : 
"  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firma- 
ment showeth  his  handiwork."  There  is  perhaps  no 
more  reason  for  claiming  that  "  the  undevout  astron- 
omer is  niad"  than  for  saying  this  of  other  men.  At 
any  rate,  the  Bible  prohibits  one  from  insulting  an  in- 
telligent audience  wijth  an  argument  to  prove  the  ex- 
istence of  God,  in  that  it  has  specified  the  class  who 
deny  the  fact.     Yet  it  is  our  duty  to  make  every  thing 


io6  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

contribute  to  a  correct  idea  of  his  infinite  greatness 
and  goodness  in  the  study  of  his  works.  The  Bible 
is  full  of  hints  and  suggestions  drawn  from  these  won- 
derful heavens.  How  often  the  heavens  and  the  stars, 
the  heavenly  bodies  and  spaces  are  mentioned !  A 
proper  conception  of  their  greatness  is  necessary  in 
order  to  get  the  full  meaning  of  the  first  clause  in  the 
Lord's  Prayer.  The  Bible,  by  reference  to  them,  over- 
whelms us  with  our  nothingness  and  again  with  our 
greatness,  thus :  ''When  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the 
work  of  thy  fingers  (not  right  arm,  but  as  a  little 
thing),  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which  thou  hast  or- 
dained, what  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him? 
and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him?"  Thus 
again  he  is  elevated  infinitely :  "  They  (the  heavens) 
shall  perish,  but  thou  shalt  endure ;  yea,  all  of  them 
shall  wax  old  like  a  garment,  ....  but  the  chil- 
dren of  thy  servants  shall  continue."  Let  us  not  fail 
to  get  the  argument  here.  To  aid  us,  taking  Professor 
Newcomb's  estimate  that,  fVom  the  present  rate  at 
which  the  sun  parts  with  his  light  and  heat,  our  solar 
system  must  have  been  about  eighteen  millions  of 
years  in  attaining  its  present  condition,  who  can  tell 
the  years  yet  to  pass  before  the  fires  of  the  stars  shall 
go  out,  and  "  they  wax  old  and  perish?  "  Yet  at  that 
time,  when  it  comes,  those  called  "  children  "  shall 
still  be  in  the  eternal  bloom  of  youth.  This  helps  us 
to  see  one  reason  why  God  bowed  the  very  heavens 
to  give  its  King  for  man:  something  in  man  is  like 
him.  Was  it  not  the  same  thing  we  call  human 
nature,  making  us  brothers  after  regeneration? 

When  we  look  up  at  the  stars  let  us  remember,  if 
Christians,  that  the  hand  that  made  and  upholds  them 
belongs  to  that  ria:ht  arm  underneath  us  on  which  all 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads  ?  107 

our  hopes  depend.  "  Who,  then,  can  be  against  us?  " 
If  not  Christians,  let  us  remember  against  that  same 
hand  and  arm,  absurd  as  it  is,  our  little  puny  powers 
are  raised  in  defiance,  and  who,  then,  can  be  for  us  ? 

Will  the  cares  of  a  universe '  cause  God  to  forget 
us  ?  If  but  a  little  child  at  his  mother's  knee  from  his 
heart  repeat  his  "  Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep,"  were 
it  necessary,  God  would  hush  "  the  music  of  the 
spheres  "  to  hear  it.  And  in  that  other  prayer  for  the 
older  children — "  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven  " — 
why  were  we  not  taught  to  say  "  Great  God  of  the 
heavens?  "  That  would  not  have  meant  half  so  much. 
He  is  just  as  infinitely  great  in  parental  tenderness  as 
in  the  workmanship  "of  his  hands  over  our  heads  and 
under  our  feet.  Who  is  this  "  Our  Father?  "  Can  we 
give  or  comprehend  an  answer?  Every  flower  under 
our  feet  whispers.  He  is  my  breath ;  every  sparrow 
splits  his  throat  to  tell.  He  is  my  song;  every  hill  and 
mountain  of  earth  pointing  through  the  clouds  signals 
back,  He  is  my  support;  every  star  in  the  universe 
twinkles  down,  He  is  my  light ;  but  every  Christian 
heart  cries  out.  He  is  my  breath,  my  song,  my  sup- 
port, my  life,  my  light,  my  all. 

What  is  the  Christian's  relationship  to  the  great 
Sofi  of  this  great  family,  "without  whom  there  was 
not  any  thing  made  that  was  made."  Though  he  is 
"  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,"  he  3'et  calls  them 
brethren  and  promises,  "  They  shall  be  kings  and 
priests  unto  God,"  and  "  they  shall  be  like  him ;  " 
kings  perhaps  in  the  realms  into  which  we  have  been 
peering ;  certainly  no  less  a  king  than  that.  Who  will 
say  what  that  sense  of  sight  will  be  that  shall  "see 
him  as  he  is,"  or  that  knowledge  that  shall  "  know 
even  as  we  are  known  ?  "     But  how  can  it  be  less  than 


io8  What  is  Over  Our  Heads? 

the  sight  and  knowledge  with  which  the  "  Elder 
Brother"  sees  and  knows  his  works?  We  only  peep 
with  a  twenty-six-inch  telescope.  Think  of  seeing 
Saturn  and  his  rings  and  knowing  them  as  we  see  and 
know  the  beauties  of  a  landscape !  But  we  can  not 
imagine. 

Can  it  enter  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  what 
shall  be  the  home  life  of  that  great  family  of  kings 
and  priests  and  workers  that  shall  take  rooms  in  "  that 
house  of  many  mansions" — "that  house  not  made 
with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens?  "  The  theologian 
will  be  there  comparing  notes  with  Elijah  and  Paul 
on  foreknowledge  and  decrees,  and  looking  into  the 
mystery  that  the  angels  bent  over  the  battlements  of 
heaven  to  see.  The  lawyer  will  be  there,  and  along 
with  Chancellors  Moses  and  Kent  will  admire  the 
beauties  of  the  constitution  and  code  of  heaven,  and 
review  the  many  cases  lost  and  won  by  the  Great  Ad- 
vocate, to  find  in  each  a  greater  mystery  than  in  "the 
rule  in  Shelly's  case."^  The  physician  will  be  there 
reading  up  on  the  "balm  of  Gilead"  from  the  library 
of  the  "  Great  Physician  there."  The  astronomer  will 
be  there  admiring  the  history  and  destiny  of  an  infin- 
ite universe  from  its  incipiency,  when  "  God  said  let 
there  be  light,"  unto  the  time  when  it  shall  have 
grown  old  and  perished.  The  scientist  will  be  there 
realizing  how  wonderfully  every  fact  points  to  the 
great  truth,  "There  is  one  God,  and  science  is  the 
knowledge  of  him."  The  poor  man,  unknowing  and 
imknown,  will  be  there,  who  saved  but  "  one  soul 
from  death,"  wearing  a  star  in  his  crown  eclipsing  the 
great  Sirius.  The  musician  will  be  there,  and  such 
music !  Every  body  shall  be  in  the  choir,  with  God- 
built  organs,  harps,  hearts  and  voices  that  shall  never 


What  is  Over  Our  Heads  ?  109 

grow  old,  while  millions  of  angels  shall  join  the 
chorus. 

What  a  family  gathering  that  will  be!  Will  you 
and  I  be  there?  is  a  question  outweighing  this  uni- 
verse. 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord ;  praise  him,  sun  and  moon  ; 
praise  him,  all  ye  stars  of  light.  Let  every  thing  that 
hath  breath  praise  the  Lord." 


IGNORANTIA  LEGIS  NEMINEM  EXCUSAT. 


BY  ANDREW  B.  MARTIN,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Law. 

All  human  knowledge,  in  so  far  as  it  is  the  certain 
perception  of  truth,  is  simply  acquaintance  with  law. 
Law,  in  its  most  abstract  and  comprehensive  significa- 
tion, is  defined  to  be  that  system  of  rules  to  which  the 
intellectual  and  physical  world  are  subjected,  by  which 
the  existence,  rest,  motion,  and  conduct  of  all  created 
and  uncreated  entities  are  regulated,  and  on  the  due 
observance  of  which  their  being  or  happiness  respect- 
ivel)^  depends. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  place  where  law 
is  not,  and  equally  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  creat- 
ure that  is  not  subject  to  it.  It  pervades  and  controls 
all  existence.  It  requires  obedience,  and  punishes  dis- 
obedience, and  from  the  one — obedience — flows  all 
human  happiness,  and  from  the  other — disobedience 
— all  huma-n  misery.  There  are  many  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  universal  law  which  men  perform  invol- 
untarily, as  those  of  breathing  and  sleeping ;  and  oth- 
ers, again,  to  which  we  are  impelled  by  irresistible 
desires  implanted  within  our  being,  as  eating  and 
drinking,  actions  involuntary-  and  irresistible,  which 
belong  alike  to  all  animated  nature.  But  law,  as  ad- 
dressed to  intellectual  beings,  declares  an  infinite  va- 
riety of  moral  duties,  touching  which  man's  obedience 
or  disobedience  is  voluntary,  and  it  is  in  respect  of 
(no) 


IGNORANTIA   LEGIS   NEMINEM   ExCUSAT.         Ill 

these  duties  that  men  need  constantly  to  be  reminded 
that  obedience  is  the  condition  precedent  of  human 
happiness.  But  if  I  do  not  know  this  law  how  shall 
I  obey  it?  and  if  I  blindly  violate  its  requirements 
will  my  ignorance  shield  me  from  its  penalties  ? 

To  show  in  some  degree  the  extent  to  which  the 
maxim  selected  as  the  subject  of  this  lecture  is  ap- 
plied in  such  cases,  and  to  present  incentives  to  a  more 
thorough  study  of  the  law  of  God  and  of  man  is  the 
object  of  this  address. 

I  separate  law  into  three  grand  divisions  : 

1.  The  law  of  nature,  and  by  this  I  mean  the  moral 
law  of  God  in  its  relation  to  man's  soul. 

2.  The  physical  law,  by  which  God  controls  all 
matter. 

3.  Municipal  law,  by  which  is  meant  human  law 
made  for  the  control  of  human  society. 

The  moral  law,  or  the  law  of  nature,  as  I  have 
termed  it,  is  the  dictate  of  right  reason  whereby  man 
determines  any  action  to  be  morally  good  or  bad. 
Lord  Coke,  in  alluding  to  this  great  system  of  rational 
and  immutable  law,  says  it  is  that  which  God,  at  the 
time  of  the  creation  of  man,  infused  into  his  heart  for 
his  preservation  and  direction.  It  is  distinctly  as- 
serted by  many  writers  on  the  subject,  and  such  is 
practically  the  declaration  of  Lord  Coke,  that  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  law  is  communicated  through  the  human 
heart  and  understanding,  and  that  independently  of 
all  revelation  and  divine  positive  law,  the  conscience 
and  reason  of  man  are  alone  sufficient  to  discover  to 
him  its  every  dictate. 

It  is  certainly  true,  whether  it  be  the  result  of  senti- 
ment or  reason,  or  of  both,  that  man  is  possessed  of  a 
quick  and  lively  faculty,  by  means  of  which  he  is  en- 


112      Ignorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat. 

abled  to  know  instantly  good  and  evil.  Numberless 
illustrations  of  this  fact  may  be  given.  The  pains  of 
others  excite  our  compassion,  we  abhor  murder,  we 
condemn  ingratitude,  we  love  our  benefactors,  we  ven- 
erate age,  love  our  parents  and  our  children,  we  ad- 
mire and  praise,  though  we  may  not  practice,  sincer- 
ity, honesty,  virtue.  These  conclusions  of  approval 
or  disapproval  are  quick,  instantaneous  in  almost  ev- 
ery case.  Indeed,  the  existence  in  man  of  this  faculty 
is  verified  by  his  consciousness  and.  by  his  every-day 
experience,  though  he  may  be  able  to  give  no  other 
account  of  it  than  that  God  has  chosen  so  to  form 
him. 

It  must  follow,  as  a  consequence  of  these  views, 
that  a  knowledge  of  natural  or  moral  law  is  as  uni- 
versal as  human  nature,  unless  it  be  true  that  human 
nature  is  one  thing  at  one  place  and  in  one  age  of  the 
world  and  anothef  at  a  different  place  and  in  a  different 
age ;  and  upon  this  question  I  entertain  no  doubt. 
Mankind  has  undergone  no  change  in  nature  since 
mother  Eve  beguiled  with  forbidden  fruit  the  repre- 
sentative man  of  the  race.  Adam,  in  his  fall,  acquired 
and  had  impressed  upon  his  degenerate  nature  a 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  an  ineffaceable  knowl- 
edge that  has  been  transmitted  from  sire  to  son 
through  all  the  mutations  of  time,  until  it  has  reached 
your  bosom  and  mine. 

It  is  not  only  a  law  universally  known,  but  it  is  of 
universal  obligation,  binding  upon  all  men  every- 
where. The  Christian  and  the  heathen  do  not  differ 
in  their  accountability  to  God  under  this  law.  In  the 
beginning  all  men  were  placed  upon  a  common  level, 
both  in  respect  of  their  knowledge  and  capacity  to  ac- 
quire a  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God ;  and  if,  in  the 


T^QMnmBm^"^' 


Igxoraxtia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat.       113 

progress  of  the  race,  some  have  advanced  to  higher 
ground  and  have  appeared  to  be  peculiarly  favored  of 
God,  the  only  effect  has  been  to, heighten  their  obliga- 
tions while  those  of  the  others  have  remained  un- 
changed. In  other  words,  I  believe  it  to  be  true  that 
man  can  not,  in  his  accountability  to  God,  sink  below 
the  common  level  fixed  by  natural  law  so  as  to  escape 
its  penalties,  but  that  he  may,  by  reason  of  illumina- 
tions outside  of  the  law  of  his  being,  be  enabled  to  have 
a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God,  and  ac- 
cordingly be  held  to  a  stricter  accountability.  The 
law  of  nature,  of  which  I  am  speaking,  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  positive  law  of  God.  There  is  a 
wide  difference  betv/een  the  two,  not  tiiat  they  are  es- 
tablished by  different  authority,  for  the  same  God  who 
made  the  one  law  made  also  the  other.  But  the  dif- 
ference lies  in  the  nature  of  the  duties  required,  and 
the  extent  of  obligation  imposed  by  the  one  and  the 
other  law. 

The  law  of  nature  enjoins  all  those  actions  which 
are  morally  good — that  is,  such  as  are  in  their  nature 
essentially  and  positively  good,  such  as  fear,  reverence, 
and  love  of  God,  temperance,  charity,  benevolence, 
virtue,  peace.  These  virtues  are  all  dictated  by  the 
law  of  nature,  and  would  be  the  common  practice  of 
mankind  if  the  voice  of  that  law  were  heeded.  So 
also  the  .same  law  forbids  all  these  things  that  are  mor- 
ally bad — that  is,  that  are  in  themselves  essentiallj-  and 
positively  evil,  or,  as  the  law-writers  say,  viahim  in  se. 
Such  are  irreverence,  blasphemy,  hatred,  malice,  re- 
venge, envy,  covetousness,  h'ing,  stealing,  burning, 
killing,  and  all  dishonest  dealing.  These  vices  are  all 
forbidden  by  the  law  of  nature,  and,  sitting  as  a  judge 
in  our  very  being,  for  every  duty  neglected  which  it 


114      Ignorantia  IvEGis  Neminem  Excusat. 

requires,  and  for  every  vice  conceived  or  enacted 
which  it  forbids,  it  silently  but  certainly  pronounces 
its  judgment  of  condemnation  in  every  human  heart. 
Upon  the  other  hand  the  positive  law  of  God  com- 
mands or  forbids  the  doing  of  certain  things  indiffer- 
ent and  not  in  themselves  of  evil  nature,  and  which 
only  become  evil  by  reason  of  the  disobedience  of  the 
law  that  may  be  involved  in  the  act  or  omission.  Of 
such  laws  we  can  have  no  intuitive  knowledge,  and  a 
positive  revelation  is  necessary  to  make  us  conscious 
of  guilt  in  their  violation. 

I  may  more  distinctly  present  the  difference  in  nat- 
ural and  positive  law  by  the  use  of  an  illustration  : 
Thou  shalt  not  kill  is  a  law  of  nature.  The  fact  that 
God  has  made  it  a  positive  law  to  all  who  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  Bible,  does  not  make  it  any  the  less 
natural  law.  It  is  difl&cult  to  reason  about  a  thing  of 
simple  consciousness,  but  self-preservation  is  said,  by 
way  of  pre-eminence,  to  be  the  first  law  of  nature,  and 
in  some  way  I  have  a  sense  that  it  is  my  right  and 
duty  to  defend  and  prolong  my  life.  I  put  on  it  a 
priceless  value,  and  I  concede  to  no  human  being  the 
right  to  take  it  away.  This  sense  of  right  and  duty  is 
not  received  from  the  teachings  or  example  of  men, 
nor  from  human  laws,  nor  the  laws  of  Moses  or  the 
prophets,  or  from  any  part  of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  a 
part  of  my  being,  impressed  upon  it  by  the  natural 
law.  I  am  not  unlike  other  men,  or  rather  all  other 
men  are  just  as  I  am,  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the 
right  and  duty  of  self-preservation.  So  that  each,  by 
the  law  of  his  nature,  is  proclaiming  to  every  other, 
"Thou  shalt  not  kill." 

Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy  is  a 
positive  law  of  God  and  not  a  natural  law.     There  is 


Ignorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat.       115 

nothing  in  my  nature  that  tells  me  one  day  is  holier 
than  another.  Man  is  a  religious  animal  by  nature, 
but  there  was  nothing  in  him  that  set  apart  one  holy 
day  from  the  seven  until  the  positive  law  of  God 
revealed  it  to  him. 

Recognizing  the  true  difference  between  natural 
and  positive  law  to  be  what  I  have  attempted  to  show, 
it  follows  that  murder  committed  by  any  reasonable 
creature,  no  matter  where  or  when,  is  a  conscious 
crime  against  the  natural  law  of  God,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  no  one  can  be  held  a  Sabbath-breaker 
who  knows  nothing  of  a  Sabbath.  In  other  words, 
the  natural  law  is  of  universal  knowledge  and  obliga- 
tion, while  positive  law  is  binding  only  so  far  as  it  is 
or  should  be  known.  This  proposition  is  not  so  start- 
ling after  all.  It  does  not  follow  that  God  has  one 
law  for  one  part  of  the  world  and  another  and  differ- 
ent law  for  another  part,  nor  that  he  has  put  a  pre- 
mium on  ignorance.  The  Scriptures,  in  so  far  as  they 
are  now  received  as  a  guide  to  men's  actions,  contain 
but  few  positive  laws,  but  are  largely  an  iteration  and 
illumination  of  natural  law. 

The  ceremonial  and  civil  laws  of  the  Old  Dispen- 
sation were  ordained  alone  for  the  Jews  and  passed 
away  at  the  dawn  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  under  the 
New.  So  the  inspired  word  of  God,  as  now  addressed 
to  man,  teaches  but  few  lessons  which  have  not  with- 
out it  found  lodgment  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  man. 
These  remarks  must  not  be  construed  as  an  intima- 
tion that  the  vScriptures  are  unnecessary.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  contain  the  words  of  God  and  he  speaks  noth- 
ing in  vain.  They  are  God's  instrumentality  for  the 
redemption  of  the  race.  They  enlighten  men's  minds 
as  to  the  truth,  they  teach  us  our  whole  duty  to  God, 


ii6      Ignorantia  IvEgis  Neminem  Excusat. 

the}'  help  our  dull  reason  and  quicken  our  consciences, 
and  with  the  greater  light  which  they  give,  enable  us 
to  carry  the  illuminated  truth  into  distant  regions  that 
lie  in  darkness. 

•  Ignorance  of  God's  inspired  word,  which  results 
from  neglect  of  opportunities,  or  simply  following  the 
dim  light  of  natural  law,  if  God  has  placed  within 
possible  reach  a  clearer  revelation  of  his  will  touching 
us,  is  a  sin  for  which  men  in  Christian  and  heathen 
lands  alike  will  be  held  accountable. 

But  I  can  not  further  pursue  this  branch  of  my  sub- 
ject. It  is  evident  under  natural  law  that  no  man  is 
punished  except  for  conscious  sins,  and  that  in  respect 
of  such  sins  the  maxim,  ignorantia  legis  iieminem 
excnsat,  can  have  no  application.  In  the  grand  assize 
of  heaven  no  man  can  say  of  himself,  I  knew  not  the 
wall  of  God,  but  each  will  stand  condemned  under 
the  law  of  his  being,  which  is  also  the  law  of  God. 

The  second  division  of  the  law  which  I  have  denom- 
inated physical  law,  consists  of  those  inexorable  rules 
of  God,  by  which  he  controls  the  world  of  matter. 

Of  this  system  of  laws,  man  in  the  beginning  of 
life  has  no  knowledge  whatever.  He  is  blinder  than 
the  beast.  The  untutored  child  will  walk  off  the 
precipice;  the  beast  knows  better  than  this.  The 
cowboy  is  caught  oftener  than  his  herd  by  the  cyclone, 
and  man  was  nearly  six  thousand  j^ears  old  before  he 
understood  the  delicate  processes  of  incubation, 
though  it  was  "  familiar  science  "  with  the  barn-yard 
hen  before  the  flood. 

But  however  dense  ma}^  have  been  the  ignorance 
of  man  in  the  past  of  these  laws,  and  no  matter  how 
little  w^e  may  now  know  of  them,  they  are  binding 
alike  upon  all  everywhere  and  under  all  conditions, 


.      iGXORAXTI.y    IvEGIS   NEMINEM    ExCUSAT.        IIJ 

upon  the  learned  and  unlearned,  the  old  and  the  young 
alike.  It  is  literal  truth  that  ignorance  of  these  laws 
excuses  no  one.  Their  decrees  are  certain  and  irrev- 
ocable, their  penalties  inevitable  and  merciless.  De- 
sert of  punishment,  as  a  rule,  is  unknown.  When  the 
train  goes  crashing  through  the  bridge  it  carries  the 
veriest  villain  the  world  ever  saw  and  the  prattling 
babe  to  the  same  inevitable  doom.  The  executioner 
did  no  more  for  Guiteau  than  Guiteau  did  for  Garfield. 
In  these  cases  physical  laws  were  violated  and  phys- 
ical death  followed  alike  in  each,  and  in  neither 
would  repentance  have  healed  the  wound  or  brought 
back  the  life. 

Why  is  it  that  God  impresses  upon  man's  mind  and 
heart  a  sense  of  the  requirements  of  his  moral  law 
and  not  of  his  physical  laws?  Why  is  it  man  may 
escape  through  repentance  the  penalties  for  the  viola- 
tion of  the  one  and  not  of  the  other  ?  God's  ways  are 
past  finding  out,  but  they  are  absolutely  just.  There 
is  a  reason  for  this  distinction  and  a  just  one.  I  may 
not  understand  it,  but  it  exists  and  accords  with  eter- 
nal right.  Dimly  outlined  in  my  mind  is  this  answer. 
Man  never  could  have  known  the  will  of  God  without 
the  revelation  of  divine  impressions  on  his  mind  and 
heart.  Through  his  unaided  reason  he  might  demand 
a  cause  for  the  things  that  exist,  and  upon  observing 
the  order  of  the  world  about  him  and  its  adaptation 
to  life,  he  might  reach  the  conclusion  that  there  is  an 
intelligent  cause,  but  the  morality  of  that  cause  he 
could  never  know.  He  could  never  know  it  had  com- 
passion, mercy,  love;  that  it  enjoined  the  practice  of 
these  virtues  and  also  those  of  chastity,  sincerity,  hon- 
esty, benevolence.  Indeed,  these  emotions  or  thoughts 
touching  the  moral  qualities  of  an  original  cause,  or 


ii8      Ignorantia  lyEGis  Neminem  Excusat.     . 

of  man's  social  and  religious  duties,  could  not  be  con- 
ceived through  his  reason  alone.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  may  search  out  a  knowledge  of  the  physical  laws. 
So  it  may  be  a  correct  answer  to  say  that  God  im- 
presses the  mind  and  heart  of  man  with  the  require- 
ments of  his  moral  law  and  does  not  with  those  of  his 
physical  law,  because  a  revelation  in  the  one  case  is 
necessary  and  in  the  other  it  is  not. 

Again,  physical  law  exists  alone  in  a  world  of  mat- 
ter, and  through  the  operation  of  its  unchangeable 
rules,  results  follow  wholly  independent  of  man's  voli- 
tion. He  may,  by  a  trespass  committed  on  another's 
land,  interrupt  the  course  of  one  physical  law,  as  the 
growth  of  a  tree,  and  set  in  motion  another  physical 
law — that  of  decay.  He  may  escape  punishment  for 
the  trespass,  but  he  can  not  avert  its  consequences. 
The  tree  will  die.  With  a  sharp  instrument  a  human 
artery  may  be  laid  open,  so  that  the  blood  will  not 
be  returned  to  the  heart.  The  interruption  of  the 
physical  law  will  at  once  put  in  motion  others — death 
and  decomposition.  The  wrong-doer  may  never  be 
punished  for  the  homicide,  but  the  inevitable  conse- 
quences of  violated  physical  law  exist  nevertheless. 
The  victim  will  die. 

The  death  of  the  body  as  the  necessary  consequence 
of  violence  is  one  thing,  the  act  of  violence  producing 
the  death  is  another.  The  former  is  a  physical  con- 
sequence, the  other  is  a  moral  sin.  The  relation  of 
the  moral  wrong  and  the  physical  result  is  neither 
compensatory  nor  punitive,  even  though  they  unite 
in  one  and  the  same  person  and  are  self-imposed.  The 
physical  death  of  the  suicide  is  neither  compensation 
nor  punishment  for  the  act  which  produced  it.  Phys- 
ical results  flowing  from  violated  physical  laws  can 


Ignorantia  IvEGis  Neminem  Excusat.       119 

in  no  sense  be  deemed  punishment,  for  they  apply 
themselves  to  conditions  irrespective  of  the  agencies 
producing  the  conditions,  and  fall  alike  in  every  case 
upon  sentient  and  non-sentient  matter.  And  as  the 
moral  and  emotional  nature  of  man  can  neither  aggra- 
vate nor  mitigate  the  consequences  of  violated  phys- 
ical law,  so  neither  can  repentance  restore  its  unity 
when  once  it  is  broken.  This  may  be  a  satisfactory 
answer  to  the  question,  and  an  acceptable  explanation 
of  the  reason  wh}'  repentance  may  save^us  from  the 
penalties  of  the  moral  law  of  God,  but  not  from  those 
of  his  physical  laws. 

But,  returning  again  to  man's  knowledge  of  ph^'sical 
laws,  if  it  be  true  that  man  can  not  plead  his  igno- 
rance in  extenuation  of  the  direful  results  of  their  in- 
fraction, nor  escape  them  through  the  gateway  of 
repentance,  does  it  not  seem  that  every  consideration 
of  prudence,  self-interest,  and  common  weal  admon- 
ishes us  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  their  intricate  and 
delicate  processes.  The  fact  that  the  perpetuity  and 
happiness  of  the  human  family,  the  overshadowing 
end  of  life  here,  depend  upon  the  observance  of 
these  laws  addresses  itself  to  the  human  intelligen.ce 
as  the  highest  incentive  to  earnest  investigation  into 
their  hidden  truths.  God  has  endowed  us  with  reason 
above  the  beasts,  and  given  us  the  earth  to  subdue ; 
hence,  a  knowledge  of  the  physical  laws  by  which  he 
controls  it  is  as  necessary  for  the  happiness  and  full 
development  of  man  in  this  life  as  is  a  knowledge  of 
spiritual  law  for  the  next. 

Physics,  in  its  most  extended  meaning,  and  as  dis- 
tinguished from  metaphysics,  comprehends  the  study 
and  knowledge  of  the  material  world,  of  the  relations 
and  .properties  and  uses  of  every  thing  that  can  be 


I20        IgNORANTIA   IvEGIS    NE3IINEM    ExCUSAT. 

seen  and  felt,  as  well  as  the  laws  of  its  creation  and 
government.  What  an  infinitude  of  labor  presented 
itself  to  man  as  he  came  from  the  hand  of  God,  and 
how  intensely  interesting  should  be  his  researches 
when  he  remembers  that  God  pronounced  every  thing 
good  that  was  made,  and  over  all  established  the  do- 
minion of  man.  Phj'sical  science,  in  the  broad  sense 
in  which  I  use  the  term,  covers  almost  the  entire  field 
of  useful  knowledge  in  this  life.  It  directs  the  inves- 
tigations and  labors  of  men  into  fields  that  yield  the 
greatest  blessings  to  the  race.  It  discloses  the  infiuite 
wisdom  and  mercy  of  God.  It  would  be  exceedingly 
interesting  to  pursue  with  some  detail  this  last 
thought,  and  show,  what  has  often  been  shown  by 
others,  how  true  it  is  that  one's  faith  in  the  existence 
and  in  the  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  is  in- 
creased by  a  knowledge  of  the  physical  sciences.  But 
I  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  accuracy  of  learning 
necessary  for  such  a  labor.  Applied  mathematics 
which  is  casting  its  angles  beyond  the  stars,  and  in 
the  eternity  of  distance  measuring  height  and  depth, 
length  and  breadth,  has  built  a  stairway  to  the  throne 
of  God,  from  whom  all  order  proceeds. 

Geology  and  botany  have  laid  bare  the  frame-work 
of  this  old  world,  and  in  the  chaos  of  preadamic  ages 
have  evolved  the  grim  outline  of  foundation-stones 
laid  in  the  eternity  of  the'  past,  and  in  the  awful 
silence  under  the  mountains  have  found  the  support- 
ing columns  marked  with  the  leaf  and  vine  of  a  verd- 
ure that  is  dead. 

Chemistry,  physiology,  and  materia  medica,  hand 
in  hand,  are  averting  the  dangers  that  swarm  along 
the  pathway  of  life,  and  are  fast  finding  out  the  secret 
places  of  the  seeds  of  death.     Pain  is  assuaged,  fever 


h 


IGNORANTIA    LEGIS   NEMINEM    ExCUSAT.         121 

abated,  the  blind  are  made  to  see,  the  halt  to  walk,  the 
maimed  and  broken  are  mended  and  spliced  and 
braced,  and  we  have  seen  the  drawn  curtain  loosed, 
the  shut  blind  opened,  and  sunshine  let  into  the  dark- 
ened home  where  the  dying  have  been  brought  back 
to  life.  I  believe  an  investigation  into  these  hidden 
truths  is  laid  upon  man  as  a  duty.  I  so  believe 
because  each  new  revelation  of  scientific  truth  con- 
tributes in  one  way  or  another  to  the  physical,  or  in- 
tellectual, or  moral  elevation  of  the  race.  Study  of 
the  Scriptures  is  a  conceded  Christian  duty.  But  God 
has  written  his  law  everywhere — in  the  depths  of  the 
sea,  upon  the  hill,  the  rock,  the  tree.  We  see  it  in  the 
lightning  flash,  we  hear  it  in  the  thunder,  we  see  it  in 
the  flower  and  blade  of  grass  at  our  feet,  we  know  it 
is  in  the  silent  spaces  above  our  heads.  It  is  in  the 
strength  of  these  limbs,  I  feel  it  in  the  throb  of  my 
heart,  I  see  it  in  the  eyes  of  m)'  children.  -  It  is  writ- 
ten everywhere,  upon  every  thing,  upon  all  life  and 
all  death. 

It  can  not  be  true  that  God  has  made  any  thing  un- 
wisely or  without  a  purpose,  and  it  must  be  true  that 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge  concerning  those  things 
which  he  has  made  for  man,  by  the  right  use  of 
our  faculties  and  opportunities,  is  a  duty  laid  at  th.e 
door  of  every  reasonable  creature.  The  development 
of  my  body,  mind,  and  heart  in  the  study  of  those 
things  which  God  has  made  for  me  and  for  my  happi- 
ness is  itself  an  act  of  reverence  and  praise,  and,  to 
the  extent  of  capability  and  opportunity,  is  as  much 
a  Christian  duty  as  any  other.  Ignorance  of  these 
things,  resulting  from  abuse  or  neglect  of  the  talent 
which  God  has  given  us,  is  therefore  not  only  inex- 
cusable, but  is  sinful.     But  without  dwelling  longer 


122      Ignorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat. 

upon  this  subject,  though  the  solemn  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities which  attach  to  it  would  justify  the  use 
of  all  my  time  in  its  discussion,  I  pass  to  the  consid- 
eration of  the  last  sub-division  of  my  address. 

MUNICIPAL   LAW. 

Civil  society  and  the  laws  which  control  it,  which  I 
have  designated  municipal  law,  are  the  offspring  of 
vice.  Simple  or  primary  society,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
early  patriarchs  who  dwelt  in  tents  and  traveled  from 
place  to  place  without  any  political  union  jtvhatever, 
may  be  said  to  be  the  natural  state  of  man,  and  cer- 
tainly was  coeval  with  his  existence ;  and  if  men  had 
always  yielded  to  the  influences  of  divine  law  as  it  is 
impressed  upon  their  hearts,  if  they  had  always  prac- 
ticed virtue  and  justice  toward  their  fellows,  and  prop- 
erly apprehended  the  dutj^  of  personal  sacrifice  for 
the  general  good,  there  is  no  reason  why  this  primitive 
condition  of  society  should  not  have  been  continued 
to  the  present  time.  The  work  of  benevolence  might 
have  been  as  well  performed,  the  marriage  tie  and  pa- 
rental relations  could  have  been  as  sacredly  observed, 
learning  could  have  been  acquired,  fields  tilled,  and 
all  the  pursuits  of  life  as  happily  and  successfully 
prosecuted  without  the  restraints  of  municipal  regu- 
lation as  with  them.  But  the  simple  and  unrestrained 
pursuit  of  happiness  did  not  last  long,  and  very  early 
in  the  history  of  the  race  much  of  human  liberty  was 
sacrificed  to  the  juggernaut  of  municipal  law.  Men 
would  not  practice  virtue.  Might  became  right.  Av- 
arice disregarded  the  voice  of  justice,  and  mercy 
pleaded  in  vain  with  revenge.  I  do  not  insist  that 
these  were  the  sole  causes  that  brought  men  to- 
gether in  political  union.     A  variety  of  causes  united 


IGnorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat.       123 

to  produce  civil  society — relationship,  social  propen- 
sities, the  advantages  which  the  reason  of  man  would 
enable  him  to  see  would  flow  from  union  in  labor — 
but  beyond  all  these  and  lying  at  the  very  base  of  po- 
litical society  is  the  sense  of  fear  which  induced  men 
to  seek  security  in  political  combinations  against  the 
rapacity,  licentiousness,  and  wrong  acts  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 

But  perhaps  it  is  unnecessary  to  discuss  the  ori- 
gin of  civil  society.  A  great  variety  of  opinions 
have  been  expressed  upon  the  subject,  and  it  is  the 
prolific  source  of  endless  speculation  and  profound 
philosophical  research.  No  matter  what  cause  or  com- 
"bination  of  causes  may  have  called  it  into  being,  it  is 
now  established  throughout  the  earth,  and  it  will  be 
more  profitable  to  consider  the  objects  of  its  creation 
and  the  obligations  and  duties  which  it  imposes  upon 
the  citizen. 

Its  object  is  to  maintain  rights  and  advance  a  com- 
mon good,  or,  as  defined  by  another,  it  is  an  associa- 
tion of  men  for  the  production  and  preservation  of 
good  order — a  good  order  which  is  to  be  purchased  by 
yielding  up  in  some  degree  the  liberty  of  self-control, 
but  which  yields  in  return  the  advantages  of  secured 
liberty  and  property,  and  of  the  tranquil  discharge  of 
all  acts  and  purposes  essential  or  convenient  to  human 
happiness.  The  very  idea  of  government  involves 
the  existence  and  enforcement  of  laws.  Indeed,  it  is 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  benefits  of  wise  and 
beneficent  legislation  in  the  protection  and  enforce- 
ment of  rights  that  society  is  organized.  The  indi- 
vidual who  becomes  a  member  of  it  binds  himself  to 
take  the  will  of  the  community  as  the  guide  of  his 
own,  and  acquiring  thus  the  advantage  of  having  on 


124      Ignorantia  IvEGis  Neminem  Kxcusat. 

his  side  a  combined  force  for  the  assertion  of  his  civil 
rights,  he  is  held  obliged  to  renounce  all  resort  to  his 
own.  To  understand  the  laws  of  the  society  to  which 
one  attaches  himself  as  a  citizen,  at  least  to  the  extent 
of  having  a  fair  comprehension  of  his  obligations  to 
the  state,  his  duties  and  rights  in  relation  to  his  fel- 
lows, it  seems  to  me,  is  the  first  dut}-  of  good  citizen- 
ship. And  when  we  remember  the  fact  that  the 
maxim,  Ignorance  of  the  law  excuses  no  one,  applies 
with  nearly  its  full  force  to  municipal  law,  it  would 
seem  also  that  every  dictate  of  oommon  prudence 
would  demand  familiarity  with  its  requirements. 

The  law  of  God,  with  its  divine  sanctions,  is  fixed 
by  no  territorial  limits,  measured  by  no  periods  of 
time,  rests  upon  every  creature,  and  as  the  Creator  is 
above  the  creature,  so  infinitely  aboye  the  devices  of 
men  is  his  divine  law.  It  has  searched  the  hearts  of 
men  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  and  prohibited 
every  thing  that  is  evil,  and  threatens  the  violator 
with  the  condemnation  of  eternal  death.  Yet  the  wis- 
dom of  the  world  is  sufficient  to  discern  that  the  fear- 
ful judgments  of  God  to  be  visited  upon  the  offender 
in  the  world  to  come  are  not  sufficient  to  restrain  the 
evil-doer  in  this.  It  is  indeed  a  sad  commentary  upon 
humanity  that  men  fear  God  less  than  man,  and  that, 
while  they  openly  defy  the  wrath  of  the  Omnipotent 
Judge,  they  tremble  in  the  presence  of  human  tri- 
bunals, and  as  men  will  not  heed  the  voice  of  God, 
nor  take  counsel  of  virtue,  justice,  and  mercy,  laws 
for  the  control  of  society,  with  penalties  enforceable 
in  this  life,  become  a  necessit3^  These  laws  mainly 
rest  upon  the  law  of  nature  written  in  the  hearts  of 
men,  which  fact  explains  the  similarity  of  laws  which 
we  find  in  all  systems  for  the  control  of  human  so- 


Ignorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat.       125 

ciety.  And  as  the  likeness  of  human  laws  to  those 
of  nature  depends  upon  the  enlightenment  of  the 
minds  and  consciences  of  men,  we  find  more  uniform- 
ity and  greater  excellence  in  the  laws  of  Christian 
communities  than  among  those  that  are  without  the 
illumination  of  the  Scriptures. 

But  it  must  not  be  thought  that  human  laws  have 
come  up  to  the  measure  of  divine  laws  in  the  re- 
straint of  evil.  On  the  contrar}',  they  fall  infinitely 
below  the  moral  standards  of  the  higher  law  of  God. 

Human  laws  are  not  made  in  vindication  of  the 
honor  and  attributes  of  God,  but  only  for  the  punish- 
ment and  prevention  of  offenses  against  the  good 
order  of  societ}^  and  in  an  infinite  variety  of  cases, 
grave  violations  of  the  law  of  God  are  not  condemned 
by  municipal  law,  nor  triable  in  human  tribunals. 
The  law  of  God  holds  man  accountable  for  the  unex- 
pressed purposes  and  thoughts  of  his  mind  and  heart ; 
human  law  holds  him  to  answer  only  for  the  expres- 
sion of  those  thoughts  and  purposes  in  overt  acts  that 
injure  or  tend  to  the  injury  of  society. 

The  law  of  God,  in  so  far  as  it  regulates  our  moral 
conduct  toward  our  fellows,  acknowledge  but  one 
principle,  and  that  is  the  duty  of  doing  to  others  what 
we  would  that  others  should  do  to  us.  This  is  a  per- 
fect standard,  and  although  the  unremitting  efforts  of 
the  world's  best  men  have  enabled  them  to  approach 
it,  the  testimony-  of  all  is  that  none  have  attained,  or 
can  attain  it.  Its  excellence  and  perfection  exclude 
all  fraud,  all  oppression,  all  overreaching,  all  crime. 

If  human  laws  were  molded  after  the  fashion  of  this 
one,  all  men  would  be  criminal,  and  if  the  law  were  en- 
forced, all  would  be  under  sentence  of  condemnation. 
But  municipal  law  is  not  so  fashioned.     Outside  of 


126      Ignorantia  IvEgis  Nemimem  Excusat. 

and  untouched  by  it  are  vast  fields  of  human  action 
governed  alone  by  the  sanctions  of  the  higher  law  of 
God.  It  is  constructed  as  all  other  human  institu- 
tions, for  time  and  not  eternity,  and  in  the  applica- 
tion of  its  principles  there  has  been  left  a  wide  mar- 
gin for  human  imperfections.  If  every  thing  was 
lawful,  as  some  philosophers,  and  some  who  are  not 
philosophers,  have  insisted,  except  what  human  law 
by  positive  enactment  condemns,  the  imperfections 
of  civil  codes  would  be  a  matter  of  more  serious  mo- 
ment. But  none  but  the  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart 
there  is  no  God.  We  know  that  God  is,  and  that  what- 
ever may  be  the  judgment  of  human  courts,  his  will 
be  just  in  truth,  eternal  in  duration. 

Notwithstanding  the  prime  importance  which  at- 
taches to  the  existence  of  the  human  family  in  the 
world  hereafter,  God  has  so  made  us  intellectual  and 
emotional  beings,  capable  of  entertaining  desires  and 
prosecuting  plans  for  our  temporal  happiness,  of  ap- 
prehending and  appreciating  the  relations  of  family 
and  friends,  and  of  expressing  in  numberless  ways 
our  tastes,  love,  envy,  hate,  that  it  is  impossible  for 
any  man  to  look  with  indifference  upon  the  things  of 
this  life,  and  particularly  to  so  regard  the  laws  which 
control  his  actions  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness  or  the 
redress  of  wrongs. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  b}^  repetition  this  statement: 
The  first  duty  of  good  citizenship  is  that  one  acquaint 
himself  wath  the  obligations  that  are  imposed  upon 
him  and  the  rights  secured  to  him  under  municipal 
regulation ;  and  I  now  add  he  will  thereby  be  admon- 
ished of  the  danger  that  awaits  the  transgressor  in  this 
life,  enabled  to  discharge  with  intelligence  the  duties 
of  his  allegiance,  to  arrest  the  wrongs  that  lie  in  w^ait 


IGNOR 

for  ignoranc 
antees  of  sue- 
When  mank 
of  organized  so«. 
control  of  humai 
vine  origin,  were 
one  being  the  nat\ 
ical  law  of  God  ;  th 
conscious  crime  onl 
nients  upon  sentient 
conscious  violations  ( 
the  cry  of  mercy,  the  . 

One  vv^ould  have  suppc 
versally  condemned  undei 
in  need  of  mercy  in  their  av 
have  been  anxious  to  exten^ 
dealings  with  each  other.  But  l 
the  physical  law  with  its  merci. 
pattern  after  which  to  fashion  a  h 
the  race  presents  the  spectacle  of  on*, 
and  visiting  vengeance   at  one  and 
How  wonderfully  is  this  inhumanity  ot  iiu 
in  the  words  of  Christ,  in  the  parable  of  the  i. 
ing  account  of  his  servants  :  "And  when  he  had  b 
to  reckon,  one  was  brought  unto  him  which  owed 
ten  thousand  talents.     But  forasmuch  as  he  had 
to  pay,  his  lord  commanded  him  to  be  sold,  and 
wife  and  children  and  all  that  he  had,  and  payment 
be  made.     The  servant  therefore  fell  down  and  woi 
shiped  him,  saying:  Lord,  have  patience  with  me  and  »v 
I  will  pay  thee  all.     Then  the  lord  of  that  servant  was 
moved  with  compassion  and  loosed  him  and  forgave  him 
the  debt.     But  the  same  servant  went  out  and  found 
one  of  his  fellow-servants  which  owed  him  a  hundred 


::usAT. 

k  him  by  the 

And  his  fel- 

•  oesought  him, 

■"[  will  pay  thee 

^xd  cast  him  into 

t."     The  solemn 

.  picture  of  human 

thou  also  have  had 

.  even  as  I  had  pity 

arred  to  the  mind  of 

atutes  are  absolutely 

'  says  everj^  person  con- 
.  degree  shall  suffer  death 
convicted   of  involuntary 
:..go  confinement  in  the  peni- 
jositive    regulations    apply    in 
.x-y,  robbery,  larceny,  and  indeed 
.alogue  of  crimes.     It  is  true  that 
^es  mentioned  is  vialum  hi  se,  having 
•^  of  evil  of  which  the  perpetrator,  as  a 
ng,  is  always  conscious,  but  he  does  not 
^     jw  to  what  extent  he  jeopardizes  his  life  or 
,s  a  citizen  by  its  perpetration  ;  and  indeed  as 
nis  it  does  not  matter  whether  he  knows  any  thing 
the  subject  at  all,  or  even  knows  of  the  existence 
the  law,  he  suffers  the  penalty  all  the  same. 
But  the  case  grows  still  more  serious  where  the  law 
prohibits  the  doing  of  a  thing  not  in  itself  of  evil  nat- 
ure, and  which  is  only  mahmi  prohibitum.     Here  the 
violator   has   no   internal    promptings  to  guide   him 
aright,  and  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  have  an}^  sense 
of  duty  touching  the  thing  commanded  or  forbidden, 
unless  he  have  a  positive  knowledge  of  the  law.   There 


IGNORANTIA    LEGIS    NEMIXEM    ExCUSAT.         129 

are  but  few  laws  of  this  character  in  the  field  of  crimes. 
I  mean  to  say  the  law  declares  but  few  acts  criminal 
which  have  in  them  no  element  of  evil,  so  that  igno- 
rance of  the  criminal  regulations  of  society  does  not 
exist  so  fully  and  so  generally  as  it  does  in  relation  to 
civil  rights  and  duties.  There  is  an  astonishing  apti- 
tude of  men  to  understand  the  criminal  codes,  which 
may  be  explained  by  the  fact  already  stated,  that  it 
relates  chiefly  to  those  acts  which  are  enjoined  or  for- 
bidden by  the  law  of  nature,  a  few  minor  police  regu- 
lations constituting  the  chief  exception  to  the  rule. 

But  the  citizen  should  not  feel  himself  free  from  dan- 
ger of  punishment  because  he  has  conformed  his  ac- 
tions to  the  criminal  law.  Numberless  dangers  beset 
him  upon  every  hand,  involving  many  times  the  most 
sacred  rights,  and  lying  so  near  the  path  of  daily  prac- 
tical life,  that  it  is  impossible  for  all  even  of  the  most 
wary  to  escape,  and  whereby  thousands  of  the  unwary 
and  ignorant  do  in  fact  fall  into  ruin. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  State  is  not  a  school- 
master who  has  assumed  the  duty  and  responsibility 
of  enlightening  the  citizen  in  a  knowledge  of  the  law. 
On  the  contrary,  that  duty  and  responsibility  is  fixed 
Upon  the  citizen  himself.  The  State  presumes  that  he 
knows  the  law,  and  however  the  fact  ma}'  be,  this  pre- 
sumption prevails.  The  extent  to  which  this  pre- 
sumption has  been  carried  and  applied,  even  in  cases 
where  there  was  a  moral  impossibilit}'  of  knowing  the 
law,  may  be  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  some,  but  it 
affords  the  clearest  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the 
rule  itself,  and  of  the  unmixed  truth  that  is  in  the 
maxim,  i^s;norantia  legis  neminem  excitsat.  Until  within 
comparatively  re'cent  time  all  acts  of  the  English  Par- 
liament took  effect  by  relation  from  the  first  day  of  the 
9 


130      Ignorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat. 

session  at  which  the  act  was  passed,  and  which  might 
have  been  weeks  or  months  before  it  was  in  fact  en- 
acted, and  while  it  still  slumbered  in  the  brain  of  the 
lord  or  commoner  who  brought  it  forward.  This  rule, 
which  because  of  its  great  and  manifest  injustice  was 
repealed,  was  not  less  unjust  than  was  the  odious  con- 
duct of  Caligula,  who  is  said  to  have  written  his  laws 
in  such  small  characters,  and  fixed  them  on  such  high 
places  that  it  was  impossible  to  read  them.  Yet  un- 
der the  English  rule,  while  it  existed,  men  were  con- 
victed of  the  violation  of  laws  occurring  before  the 
laws  themselves  were  enacted,  thus  presenting  the 
strongest  possible  case  of  unavoidable  yet  inexcusa- 
ble ignorance  of  law. 

And  under  a  still  more  recent  rule,  and  which  pre- 
vails at  present  in  this  country,  laws  may  be  made  to 
take  effect  from  their  passage,  and  before  they  are 
promulgated,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  period  being 
fixed  in  the  act,  the  State  constitutions  generally  pro- 
vide that  it  shall  take  effect  within  twent}"  to  forty 
days  after  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature.  This 
latter  constitutional  provision  is  a  marked  improve- 
ment upon  former  rules,  but  it  is  manifestly  improba- 
ble if  not  impossible  that  laws  should  be  so  quickly 
known  throughout  this  vast  country,  and  yet  it  is  still 
true  that  the  responsibility  of  knowing  the  law  is  with 
the  citizen,  and  he  is  liable  an}^  day  to  suffer  the  pen- 
alty of  a  law  of  which  he  has  no  knowledge.  And  if 
this  be  so  of  current  legislation  there  certainly'  is  no 
escape  through  ignorance  from  the  penalties  of  those 
general  principles  of  municipal  law  which  are  monu- 
mental of  the  ages. 

And  yet  with  these  startling  propositions  staring  us 
in  the  face,  the  ignorance  of  law  that  prevails  among 


Ignorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat.      131 

the  masses  of  the  people  is  as  dense  as  the  darkness 
of  Eg3'pt.  Of  all  the  vast  litigation  that  is  now  crowd- 
ing the  dockets  of  our  civil  courts,  one  half  proceeds 
from  ignorance  mixed  with  meanness,  and  the  other 
half  from  ignorance  unmixed  with  an}-  thing.  It  is 
impossible  for  us  to  escape  the  lav^^  or  to  ignore  it.  It 
surrounds  us  upon  every  hand.  It  is  with  us  in  our 
pleasures  and  our  toils,  in  domestic,  social,  and  polit- 
ical relations.  Almost  every  word  and  action  of  our 
lives  have  a  legal  significance  and  effect.  At  home 
and  abroad,  waking  and  sleeping,  it  is  our  shield  to 
protect,  our  executioner  to  redress. 

Mr.  Parsons,  in  speaking  alone  of  the  law  of  con- 
tracts, says  "it  is  the  basis  of  human  society ;  all  so- 
cial life  presumes  it,  and  rests  upon  it.  Even  those 
duties  or  acts  of  kindness  and  affection  which  may 
seem  most  remote  from  contract,  are  nevertheless 
within  the  scope  of  its  obligation.  The  parental  love 
which  provides  for  the  infant  when  in  the  beginning 
of  its  life  it  can  do  nothing  for  itself,  would  seem  to 
be  so  pure  an  offering  of  affection  that  the  idea  of  con- 
tract could  in  no  way  belong  to  it.  But  even  here, 
although  these  duties  are  generally  discharged  from 
a  feeling  which  borrows  no  strength  from  a  sense  of 
obligation,  there  is  still  such  an  obligation."  And 
thus,  beginning  in  the  cradle,  rights  are  acquired  and 
obligations  assumed  which  follow  us  through  life  in  a 
thousand  different  forms,  and  which  many  times  live 
after  we  are  in  our  graves,  as  wrongs  unredressed  and 
promises  broken  to  harass  those  who  take  our  shoes. 

It  can  not,  of  course,  be  expected  that  all  should  be 
lawyers,  or  that  all  should  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the 
science  of  law,  or  indeed  explore  any  very  great  part 
of  its  vast  fields  of  complicated  learning;  but  it  is  de- 


132      Igxorantia  Legis  Neminem  Excusat. 

sirable,  and  should  be  expected,  that  every  man  should 
make  the  elementary  principles  in  their  application  to 
the  rights  of  person  and  prc^ert}^  a  part  of  his  educa- 
tion. It  is  a  kind  of  learning  which  better  fits  a  man 
for  the  performance  of  duty  in  any  calling  or  station, 
from  the  humblest  blacksmith  who  wields  the  sledge 
to  the  President  who  may  control  the  destiny  of  this 
great  nation.  It  increases  one's  usefulness  in  church 
and  state.  It  makes  him  a  better  citizen,  and  it  opens 
the  way  to  distinction  and  the  highest  honors.  These 
are  only  a  few  of  the  temptations  and  allurements 
which  it  addresses  to  ambition,  but  on  the  other  hand 
it  pays  in  teaching  one  how  to  make  a  bargain,  and 
how  to  secure  his  rights  under  one  when  made  ;  how 
to  acquire  title  and  how  to  part  with  it ;  how  to  de- 
fend your  person,  how  to  protect  your  good  name  and 
property  when  3'ou  have  earned  them.  What  num- 
berless calamities  which  wreck  character,  fortune,  and 
life,  and  overtake  the  ignorant,  I  can  not  attempt  to 
enumerate.  The  right  to  vindicate  your  character 
through  the  courts  from  the  foul  accusation  of  the 
slanderer  is  lost  in  six  months.  Six  years  of  indul- 
gence to  your  debtor,  though  it  proceed  from  benevo- 
lent kindness,  will  rob  you  of  the  earnings  of  a  life- 
time. The  failure  to  put  in  writing  the  contract  for 
the  purchase  or  sale  of  lands  will  make  you  the  victim 
of  villainy.  Equitable  liens  and  trusts,  express,  im- 
plied, constructive,  and  resulting,  the  children  of  fraud 
and  fear,  the  nurslings  of  a  court  of  conscience,  will 
steal  the  home  that  shelters  you  and  your  children. 
And  equitable  estoppel  will  shut  the  mouth  of  even  a 
married  woman,  the  only  thing  on  earth  that  can,  but 
this  can  only  do  it  by  an  application  of  the  equitable 
fiction  which  says  "  whatever  ought  to  be  done  is  con- 


Ignorantia  I^egis  Neminem  Excusat.      133 

sidered  as  done."  And  so  on  and  on  I  might  prolong 
the  enumeration  of  pitfalls  and  snares  laid  for  the  ig- 
norant. But  I  must  desist,  the  bias  of  professional 
preference  and  the  vast  importance  of  this  branch  of 
my  subject  would  lead  me  on  to  such  elaboration  as  to 
provoke  your  criticism. 

The  man,  young  or  old,  who  thinks  but  little  of  the 
life  which  he  should  live  here,  has  an  appreciation  poor 
indeed  of  the  life  which  awaits  him  hereafter.  The 
earth,  thronging  with  its  millions,  has  no  man  in  it 
without  a  destiny,  a  destiny  to  be  molded  with  his 
own  hands.  However  devious  the  ways  of  men,  and 
inexplicable  their  turnings  about,  some  pressing  this 
way,  some  that,  we  are  all  surrounded  by  the  walls  of 
the  same  life,  through  which  there  are  but  two  gate- 
ways, one  opening  into  higher  life,  the  other  into 
ruined  life.  Through  which  gateway  shall  you  "and  I 
pass?  God  has  given  you  the  power  of  election,  and 
your  destiny  and  mine  wall  be  the  destiny  of  election. 
Love  God  and  keep  his  commandments,  is  the  whole 
duty  of  man,  and  to  do  this  as  God  requires  it  should 
be  done  demands  the  highest  development  of  which 
man's  intellectual  and  moral  nature  is  capable.  Search 
out  God  in  the  laws  of  his  moral  government  and  obey 
his  voice.  Find  him  and  adore  him  in  the  secret 
places  of  a  world  of  matter.  Praise  him  with  human 
statutes  and  with  an  intelligent  appreciation  and  ob- 
servance of  municipal  laws.  The  ivill  of  God,  a  world 
of  matter,  and  mankind,  a  knowledge  of  these  three  is 
the  sum  of  human  wisdom.  Study  these.  This  is  my 
message  of  admonition. 


LAUGHING  AND  CRYING. 


BY    J.   I.   D.    HINDS, 
Professor  of  Chemistry. 

Although  these  two  acts  of  man  are  apparently  so 
different,  they  are  still  intimately  associated  with  each 
other  in  various  ways.  Like  the  transition  from  the 
sublime  to  the  ridiculous,  there  is  but  a  step  from  one 
to  the  other.  Psychologically  they  are  the  result  of 
closely  related  emotions,  and  physiologically  they  dif- 
fer from  each  other  chiefly  in  the  expression  of  the 
countenance  during  the  act.  We  often  see  the  child 
smiling  through  its  tears,  and  with  men  and  women 
the  same  circumstances  may  make  one  weep  and  an- 
other laugh. 

Of  the  two  acts,  laughing  is  peculiar  to  man,  is 
more  intellectual  and  refined,  belongs  to  society,  and 
is  publicly  manifested.  Cr^nng,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
common  to  many  animals,  is  more  sensual  in  its  nat- 
ure, is  rather  a  source  of  embarrassment,  and  is  con- 
cealed when  possible.  It  is  generally  regarded  as  an 
evidence  of  weakness,  and  hence  is  strongly  resisted, 
particularly  in  man.  There  are  circumstances,  how- 
ever, under  which  it  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be 
manly  to  cry.  Both  acts  are  the  results  of  the  emo- 
tional nature,  and  hence,  as  a  rule,  those  who  laugh 
most  easily  cry  most  easily. 

I.      PHYSIOLOGICAL. 
I.   The  Act. — The  physiological  action  in  laughing 
and  crying  is  much  the  same.     It  consists  of  forcible 
(134) 


Laughing  and  Crying.  135 

intermittent  expirations,  accompanied  by  peculiar 
sounds  and  characteristic  facial  expressions,  followed 
by  deep  inspirations.  In  laughing  the  expirations  are 
sudden,  short,  and  explosive ;  in  crying,  the  intervals 
are  longer,  and  they  are  not  explosive.  The  two  acts 
shade  into  each  other  through  repose.  The  number 
of  muscles  brought  into  action  will  depend  upon  the 
violence  of  the  emotion.  In  the  smile  and  the  ex- 
pression of  sadness  only  the  muscles  of  the  face  move, 
with  perhaps  a  slight  inclination  of  the  head.  In  vio- 
lent laughing  and  crying  the  body  sways,  the  hands 
and  feet  move,  and  indeed  almost  every  muscle  of  the 
body  may  be  brought  into  action. 

2.  The  Sound. — The  sounds  accompanying  the  laugh 
and  the  cry  correspond  to  the  physiological  action.  In 
laughing  we  have  a  series  of  short,  explosive  sounds, 
rapidly  succeeding  each  other,  and  usually  descending 
in  the  major  scale.  In  crying,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
sounds  are  prolonged,  and  the  descent  is  in  the  minor 
scale.  After  an  inspiration,  if  the  emotion  is  increas- 
ing, the  next  series  of  sounds  begins  higher  up  in  the 
scale ;  if  the  emotion  is  decreasing  it  begins  lower 
down.  An  ordinary  laugh  may  be  represented  by  the 
descending  major  third,  either  with  or  without  the 
chromatic  intervals,  as : 


:^-:^: 


:fe=&d 


Or 


The  character  of  the  sound  depends  upon  the  interval 
between  the  first  and  last  notes.  Again,  the  sound 
may  run  through  a  still  greater  interval. 

The  cry  is  characterized  b^'  a  legato  movement,  in- 
cluding the  descending  minor  third,  either  with  or 


136  Laughing  and  Crying. 

without  the  chromatic  interval.     The  extreme  notes 
again  give  the  peculiar  intonation,  as : 


li-— :i: 


t=t-^ 


As  in  the  other  case,  the  successive  series  of  sounds 
may  begin  higher  or  lower,  and  run  through  larger 
intervals. 

Either  the  laugh  or  the  cry  may  be  expressed  in  two 
notes.  In  this  case  the  laugh  will  be  a  major  second 
and  the  cry  a  chromatic  interval.  The  laugh  again 
may  be  expressed  as  a  trill  rising  at  the  end. 

That,  when  the  emotion  is  increasing,  each  cry  be- 
gins higher  up  in  the  scale  is  illustrated  by  the  analo- 
gous case  of  one  person's  calling  another.  The  fol- 
lowing cases  are  given  bj^  Spencer  in  his  essay  on 
"  The  Origin  and  Function  of  Music  :  " 

"  If  two  men  living  in  the  same  town,  and  fre- 
quently seeing  one  another,  meet,  say  at  a  public  as- 
sembly, any  phrase  with  which  one  may  be  heard 
to  accost  the  other,  as,  '  Hallo,  are  you  here  ? '  will 
have  an  ordinary  intonation.  But  if  one  of  them, 
after  a  long  absence,  has  unexpectedly  returned,  the 
expression  of  surprise  with  which  his  friend  may  greet 
him — '  Hallo  !  how  came  you  here  ? ' — will  be  uttered 
in  much  more  strongly  contrasted  tones.  The  two 
syllables  of  the  word  '  Hallo '  will  be,  the  one  much 
higher  and  the  other  much  lower  than  before,  and  the 
rest  of  the  sentence  will  similarly  ascend  and  descend 
by  longer  steps. 

»  "Again,  if,  supposing  her  to  be  in  an  adjoining 
room,  the  mistress  of  the  house  calls  '  Mary,'  the  two 
syllables  of  the  name  will  be  spoken  in  an  ascending 


Laughing  and  CR\aNG.  137 

interval  of  a  third.  If  Mary  does  not  reply,  the  call 
will  be  repeated  probably  in  a  descending  fifth,  imply- 
ing the  slightest  shade  of  annoyance  at  Mary's  inat- 
tention. Should  Mary  still  make  no  answer,  the  in- 
creasing annoyance  will  show  itself  by  the  use  of  a 
descending  octave  on  the  next  repetition  of  the  call. 
Supposing  the  silence  to  continue,  the  lady,  if  not  of 
a  very  even  temper,  will  show  her  increased  irritation 
by  calling  in  tones  still  more  widely  contrasted,  the 
first  ^'liable  being  higher  and  the  last  lower  than  be- 
fore." 

3.  Expression.— "VYi^  expressions  accompanying  the 
acts  of  laughing  and  crying  are  quite  different.  In 
moderate  emotion  they  involve  only  the  face.  In  ex- 
cessive emotion  the  whole  bod}'  participates  more  or 
less  in  the  expression. 

In  laughing,  the  lines  are  turned  downward  toward 
the  central  portion  of  the  face,  forming  gentle  curves. 
The  angles  of  the  mouth,  the  cheeks,  and  the  under 
eyelids  are  drawn  upward  and  outward,  and  the  mouth 
is  slightly  opened. 

In  crying,  the  lines  of  the  face  are  turned  down- 
ward toward  the  sides,  and  form  acute  angles  on  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  face.  The  angles  of  the  mouth  are 
drawn  downward  and  outward,  the  middle  of  the 
lower  lip  is  thrust  upward  against  the  upper  lip,  and 
thus  both  are  pressed  outward,  giving  the  expression 
of  pouting.  The  cheeks  and  the  outer  angles  of  the 
eyes  are  drawn  down.  The  inner  ends  of  the  eye- 
brows are  drawn  up,  and  vertical  wrinkles  appear  in 
the  forehead.  The  eyes  are  firmly  closed  and  the 
mouth  wide  open.  One  can  not  cry  with  the  eyes 
open.  Thus  it  is  that  a  child  is  hushed  by  attracting 
its  attention  and  causing  it  to  look  at  some  object. 


138  Laughing  and  Crying. 

The  closing  of  th,e  eyes  is  to  protect  the  delicate  ves- 
sels of  the  eyeball,  and  to  prevent  their  being  bursted 
by  the  rush  of  blood  into  them. 

As  the  acts  become  more  violent  other  portions  of 
the  body  are  brought  into  action.  These  are  in  order 
about  as  follows :  The  head,  the  hands  and  arms,  the 
trunk,  the  feet  and  legs.  In  immoderate  laughter, 
the  head  is  thrown  forward  and  backward,  with  a 
tendency  to  remain  back ;  in  great  grief,  it  is  turned 
slowly  from  side  to  side,  with  a  tendency  forward.  In 
laughing,  the  neck  is  extended  and  the  shoulders^  de- 
pressed ;  in  grief,  the  neck  is  shortened  and  the  shoul- 
ders elevated ;  in  both,  the  body  sways  back  and  forth, 
the  difference  being  that  in  grief  the  forward  move- 
ment predominates,  while  in  joy  the  other  does. 
Hence,  grief  bows  a  man ;  joy  makes  him  erect.  The 
movements  of  the  hands  and  feet  are  peculiar.  In 
pleasurable  emotions,  the  hands  are  clapped  together, 
raised  to  the  mouth,  or  chin,  or  beard,  placed  upon 
the  sides,  or  slapped  upon  the  knees ;  in  grief,  they 
are  clasped  together,  wrung,  carried  to  the  eyes  or 
forehead,  lifted  above  the  head,  or  clasped  in  front  of 
the  knees.  If  the  feet  are  brought  into  motion,  in 
grief  this  motion  will  be  spasmodic  and  irregular, 
often  involving  only  one  limb,  as  when  one  stamps 
the  foot  in  vexation.  If  both  are  moved  they  will  be 
moved  together  or  in  rapid  .succession,  as  when  one 
jumps  up  and  down  in  rage,  or  when  the  child  stamps 
alternate  feet  when  its  mother  dares  to  cross  its  will. 
In  joy,  on  the  contrary,  the  motion  is  alternate  and 
generally  rhythmic,  as  when  one  dances  for  joy  or 
keeps  .step  to  music.  The  former  movement  is  life- 
less and  dull ;  the  latter,  buoyant  and  vigorous. 

4.    The  Immediate  Cause. — Muscular  contraction  is 


Laughing  and  Crying.  139 

the  immediate  cause  of  all  the  expressions  which  ac- 
company joy  and  grief.  The  motion  of  the  body  and 
limbs  need  no  special  attention,  but  we  must  consider 
the  muscular  movements  in  the  facial  expressions. 

In  order  to  understand  facial  expressions  we  must 
know  something  of  the  muscles  of  the  face.  Those 
particularly  concerned  in  the  expression  of  emotions 
are  as  follows : 

(i)  Occipito-fronialis,  or  frontal  muscle,  covering  the 
whole  scalp  from  the  superciliary  ridge  to  the  back  of 
the  head ;  raises  the  eyebrows  and  the  skin  over  the 
root  of  the  nose,  and  makes  transverse  wrinkles  on 
the  forehead ;  used  in  laughing. 

(2)  Corrngator  Supcrcilii,  or  corrugator  muscle  of 
the  eyebrows,  extending  from  the  inner  portion  of  the 
superciliary  ridge  upward  and  outward  and  inserted 
on  the  under  side  of  the  occipito-frcntalis;  makes 
vertical  wrinkles  in  the  forehead,  and  draws  the  ej-e- 
brqws  dowi\ward  and  inward  ;  used  in  crying. 

(3)  Orbicularis  Palpcbrariun,  or  orbicular  muscle  of 
the  eye ;  forms  the  eyelids  and  blends  with  the  occipito- 
fronta/is   and  corrugator   supcrcilii;    closes  the  eye ; 

used  in  laughing  and  crying. 

(4)  Pyramidalis  Nasi,  extending  from  the  occipito- 
frontalis  to  the  co7npressor  nasi — a  pyramidal  muscle 
on  either  side  of  the  nose ;  draws  down  the  inner 
angle  of  the  eye  and  assists  in  dilating  the  nostrils ; 
used  in  laughing  and  crying. 

(5)  Levator  Labii  Superior  is  Ahrquc  Nasi,  extending 
from  the  nasal  process  of  the  malar  bone  to  the  alae  of 
the  nose  and  the  upper  lip  ;  raises  the  lip  and  nose  and 
shows  the  teeth  ;  may  be  used  in  laughing  or  crying. 
This  is  the  principal  muscle  used  in  the  expression  of 
contempt. 


Muscles  of  the  face  after  Sir  C.  Bell. 


Muscles  of  the  face  after  Henle. 


A.  Occipito-frontalis,      or      frontal 
muscle. 

B.  Corrugator  supercilii,   or  corru- 
gator  muscle. 

c.  Orbicularis  palpebr.Trum,  or  or- 
bicular muscles  of  the  eyes. 

n.  Pyraiiiidalis  nasi,  or  pyramidal 
muscle  of  the  nose. 

E.  Levator  labii  superioris  alceque 
nasi.   • 

(140) 


F.  Levator  labii  superioris. 

G.  Zygomatic. 

I.   Little  zygomatic. 
K.  Depressor  anguli  oris. 
L.  Depressor  labii  inferioris. 
M.  Eisorius,  part  of  the   Platysma 
uiyoides. 

N.  ()rbicularis  oris. 
o.  Masseter. 


Laughing  and  Crying.  141 

(6)  Levator  Labii  Siipcrioris,  extending  from  the  lip 
to  the  infra-orbital  ridge ;  elevates  the  li*p  and  draws 
it  somewhat  outward ;  used  in  laughing. 

(7)  Zygomaiicus  Major,  extending  from  the  malar 
b'one  to  the  angle  of  the  mouth. 

(8)  Zygomaiicus  Minor,  extending  from  the  malar 
bone  to  the  angle  of  the  mouth,  inside  of  the  zygo- 
viaticus  major.  These  two  muscles  raise  the  angle  of 
the  mouth  and  draw  it  out,  and  are  used  in  laughing. 

(9)  Levator  Labii  Liferioris. — Raises  the  lower  lip ; 
used  in  pouting ;  when  relaxed  produces  the  dropping 
of  the  lip. 

(10^  Depressor  Angiili  Oris,  from  angle  of  the  lip  to 
the  lower  jaw ;  depresses  the  angle  of  the  mouth ; 
used  in  crying. 

(11)  Depressor  Labii  Infer ioris,  from  chin  to  lower 
lip ;  depresses  the  lip  ;  used  in  laughing. 

(12)  Orbicularis  Oris,  or  sphincter  muscle  of  the 
mouth  ;  closes  the  miOuth  firmly  ;  used  in  expressions 
of  grief  and  sorrow  when  resisted ;  also  used  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  the  lips  into  the  position  proper 
for  osculation. 

(13)  Risorius. — Rises  in  the  fascia  over  the  masseter 
muscle  and  is  inserted  in  the  angle  of  the  mouth; 
draws  the  angle  of  the  mouth  backward;  used  in 
laughing. 

(14)  Masseter. — Closes  the  mouth. 

(15)  Digastric. — Opens  the  mouth. 

It  is  by  the  action  of  these  fifteen  muscles  chiefly 
that  all  facial  expressions  are  produced.  They  are  the 
medium  of  expression  not  only  for  joy  and  sorrow, 
but  also  for  all  the  emotions  which  move  the  human 
soul. 

The    laughing    muscles    are:    Risorius,   zygomatic 


142  Laughing  and  Crying. 

major  and  7ninor,  levator  labii  supcrioris,  orbicularis- 
palpebrarum,  and  occipito-frontalis. 

The  crying  muscles  are :  Corrugator  supercilii,  or- 
bicularis palpebrarum,  pyramidalis  nasi,  levator  labii 
superior  is  ales  que  nasi,  depressor  anguli  oris,  and  de- 
pressor labii  inferioris. 

The  change  from  the  state  of  repose  toward  joy  is 
in  order  about  as  follows:  The  occipito-frontalis  con- 
tracts, raising  the  e5^ebrows  and  slightly  furrowing 
the  forehead  horizontally.  It  carries  with  it  also  the 
pyramidalis  nasi,  dilating  the  nostrils  and  brightening 
the  countenance.  Next  follows  a  slight  contraction 
of  the  orbicularis  palpcbraritm,  the  effect  of  which  is  to 
raise  the  lower  eyelid  and  the  portion  of  the  cheek 
just  below  it,  partially  closing  tlie  eye  and  giving  it  a 
peculiar  twinkle.  The  face  has  now  put  on  a  cheerful 
look.  The  risorioiis  now  contracts,  and  immediately 
afterward  the  two  zygomatics,  carrying  the  angles  of 
the  mouth  outward  and  upward.  The  muscles  take 
on  a  quivering  motion,  and  the  face  is  no  longer  in  re- 
pose, but  is  wreathed  in  smiles.  We  next  observe  the 
lips  part,  on  account  of  the  relaxation  of  the  masseter 
muscle  and  the  contraction  of  the  digastric,  the  lower 
jaw  being  slightly  depressed.  This  is  the  broad 
smile.  Now  follows  a  deep  inspiration,  and  the  laugh 
bursts  forth.  If  the  excitant  is  sufficiently  powerful 
the  bodily  movements  follow  each  other  in  succession 
as  already  described. 

The  change  from  repose  to  grief,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  as  follows :  The  movement  begins,  as  before,  at  the 
forehead,  but  this  time  by  the  contraction  of  the  cor- 
rugator supercilii,  causing  a  vertical  corrugation  of  the 
skin  of  the  forehead  between  the  ej^ebrows.  The  re- 
sult is  simply  a  frown.     The  orbicularis  now  contracts. 


Laughing  and  Crying.  143 

partiall}-  closing  the  e)-es,  and  the  central  portion  of 
the  occipito-frontalis  contracts,  raising  the  inner  ends 
of  the  eyebrows,  giving  them  the  peculiar  oblique  po- 
sition sometimes  seen  in  profound  grief.  This  ex- 
pression is  not  generally  well  marked.  When  it  is  it 
gives  a  peculiar  corrugation  to  the  brow,  both  hori- 
zontal and  vertical,  the  horizontal  wrinkles  only  effect- 
ing the  central  portion  of  the  forehead  and  turning 
abruptly  down-  to  meet  the  vertical  furrows  at  the 
sides.  This  is  the  peculiar  expression  of  grief,  and 
Darwin  calls  these  the  "grief  muscles." 

Next  follows  the  contraction  of  the  depressor  angiili 
oris,  carrying  the  corners  of  the  mouth  down,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  middle  portion  of  the  lower  lip  is 
closely  pressed  upward,  giving  the  mouth  the  peculiar 
curved  position  seen  so  often  in  the  child  beginning 
to  cry  and  in  the  chronic  grumbler.  The  mouth  now 
begins  to  open.  The  zygomatic  muscles  act  against 
the  depressors  so  that  the  open  mouth  takes  a  shape 
almost  square.  Thus  Mrs.  Gaskell  says,  in  describing 
a  baby  crying  while  being  fed:  "It  made  its  mouth 
like  a  square,  and  let  the  porridge  run  out  at  all  the 
four  corners." — Jfarjy  Barton. 

Respiration  now  becomes  irregular,  the  eyes  close 
firmly,  the  mouth  opens  wider,  and  the  cry  bursts 
forth.  Here  again  may  follow  the  movements  of  the 
body  and  limbs  as  described  above. 

The  order  of  expressions  here  outlined  varies  some- 
what in  different  individuals  and  at  different  periods 
of  life.  This  is  due  to  the  control  which  the  will 
exerts  over  the  muscles  which  enter  into  the  expres- 
sions. Indeed,  they  may  all  be  brought  more  or  less 
under  the  control  of  the  will.  The  last  to  be  brought 
into  action  are  the  first  to  be  subdued.     Thus   the 


144  L,AUGHING   AND    CrYING. 

bodily  motions  are  first  controlled,  then  the  audible 
sounds,  then  the  expressions  about  the  mouth,  and 
then  those  about  the  eyes,  and  finally  those  on  the 
forehead.  The  hypocrite  and  the  deceiver  cultivate 
this  power  until  the  movements  of  their  muscles  of 
emotion  are  almost  entirel}'  subject  to  the  will.  The 
only  thing  that  renders  transparent  their  disguise  is 
the  fact  that  thoughts  long  indulged  form  fixed  ex- 
pressions upon  the  face,  and  these  can  not  be  con- 
trolled. Hence,  we  hear  of  the  "  deceitful  counte- 
nance," the  "  hypocritical  face."  We  unconsciously 
distinguish  the  expression  which  is  natural  from 
that  which  is  assumed.  As  transitory  emotions  and 
thoughts  find  temporary  expression  on  the  face,  so 
habitual  feelings  will  make  a  permanent  one.  It  is 
thus  that  character  is  read  in  the  face.  In  children 
the  expression  has  not  become  fixed,  and  only  reveals 
temporary  emotion,  giving  no  indication  of  character. 
In  later  life  our  very  hearts  are  written  upon  our 
faces,  so  that  he  that  runs  may  read. 

A  word  may  be  said  in  this  connection  about  tears. 
They  are  the  usual  accompaniment  of  crying  or  grief 
not  expressed  by  the  audible  sound.  They  are  also 
shed  in  violent  laughter.  Babes  do  not  shed  tears 
when  they  cry.  The  age  at  which  they  begin  to  do 
so  is  various,  ranging  from  three  to  seven  months. 
In  middle  life  tears  are  rare ;  in  childhood  and  old 
age  they  are  easily  shed. 

II.    PSYCHOLOGICAL. 

I.  Cause  of  the  Action. — The  ultimate  cause  of  all 
of  the  physiological  actions  which  have  been  described 
is  emotion.  The  action,  however,  is  not  always  in 
proportion  to  the  emotion.     The  minimum  of  emotion 


\ 


Laughing  and  Crying.  r45 

is  found  when  the  action  is  caused  by  simple  physical 
contact,  as  when  one's  foot  is  tickled,  or  when  one 
receives  a  slight  bodily  hurt.  The  maximum  of  emo- 
tion is  no  doubt  when  it  is  strongly  subjective,  as 
grief  at  the  loss  of  dear  ones,  or  joy  at  the  accomplish- 
ment of  long-cherished  purposes.  It  is  thus  seen  that 
the  maximum  of  emotion  does  not  always  accompany 
the  maximum  of  action. 

If  the  emotion  is  pleasurable,  it  gives  rise  to  the 
laugh  in  some  of  its  degrees ;  if  it  is  unpleasant,  the 
result  is  the  cry. 

The  cause  of  the  emotion  may  be  objective  or  sub- 
jective. It  may  come  from  the  external  world  through 
the  senses — that  is,  it  may  be  a  sight,  a  sound,  a  smell, 
a  taste,  or  a  touch.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  have  its 
origin  within  the  mind.  It  may  be  the  pure  result  of 
intellectual  action,  or  it  may  be  aroused  by  the  remem- 
brance of  past  events  or  the  anticipation  of  future  joy 
or  sorrow.  In  children,  in  uncultivated  races,  and  in 
animals  the  emotion  comes  largely  through  sense  per- 
ception. Since  the  senses  are  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  motor  nerves,  the  external  expression  of  the 
emotion  is  strongly  marked.  In  adults  and  among 
cultured  people  emotions  of  intellectual  origin  pre- 
dominate. In  these  the  emotion  may  be  much  deeper 
and  more  profound,  with  but  little  external  expression. 
This  is  partly  due  to  habit  and  partly  because  of  the 
remote  connection  of  the  cerebral  with  the  reflex  cen- 
ters of  the  nervous  system. 

2.  T/ie  Cause  of  the  Emotion. — The  emotion  being 
the  cause  of  the  physiological  act,  we  must  next  look 
to  find  the  cause  of  the  emotion.  Crying  niaj^  come 
from  physical  pain,  sorrow,  grief,  or  sympathy.  One 
may  even  cry  for  joy,  but  this  is  rather  exceptional. 

lO 


146  lyAUGHING   AND    CrYING. 

With  laughing,  however,  the  causes  are  more  various, 
and  it  is  uncertain  whether  they  can  be  reduced  to  a 
single  principle.  Various  attempts  have  been  made 
to  find  a  single  cause  for  laughter  under  all  circum- 
stances, but  without  complete  success.  The  best  the- 
ory is,  perhaps,  that  of  Bain.  He  makes  laughter  the 
result  of  release  from  a  state  of  nervous  constraint. 

I  will  make  a  provisional  threefold  division  of  the 
causes  of  laughter  as  follows  : 

(a)  Physical  Stimulation,  (d)  Advantage,  (c)  In- 
congruity. 

(a)  Physical  Stimulation. — We  laugh  or  smile  when 
we  are  tickled,  when  we  feel  well  physically,  when  we 
perceive  pleasant  odors,  when  we  hear  harmonious 
sounds,  when  we  see  unusual  sights  that  give  us  pleas- 
ure, as  in  fireworks,  exhibitions,  etc.  We  may  include 
under  this  head  any  pleasure  which  we  receive  through 
the  senses.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  universal  cause 
of  laughter  and  operates  upon  people  of  all  ages  and 
all  nations.  Laughter  of  this  sort  is  not  at  all  intel- 
lectual, but  may  become  so  when  the  object  of  sense 
appeals  to  the  intellect,  as  when  we  look  at  a  picture  or 
listen  to  music.  If,  however,  the  intellectual  element 
predominates,  the  sensation  no  longer  produces 
laughter. 

{b)  Advantage. — The  second  cause  of  laughter  may 
take  the  form  of  (i)  advantage  over  an  opponent;  (2) 
triumph  over  an  adversary ;  or  (3)  consciousness  of 
power. 

In  the  case  of  advantage  there  may  be  actual  con- 
test, or  the  superior  may  impose  on  the  inferior.  This 
is  illustrated  in  ridicule,  practical  jokes,  etc.,  by  which 
one  gets  the  advantage  of  another  and  puts  him  to 
confusion.     This  also  explains  the  charm  of  the  horse- 


IvAUGHING   AND   CrYING.  I47 

race,  the  card-table,  chess,  and  games  of  all  sorts. 
Amusement  of  this  character  is  innocent  as  long  as  it 
is  accompanied  by  good-will  and  looks  simply  to  tem- 
porary annoyance. 

Whenever  it  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  do  real  injury 
then  it  assumes  the  character  of  triumph  over  an 
enemy.  At  the  same  time  the  fun  becomes  inhuman 
and  barbarous.  This  is  the  shout  of  victory,  the  laugh 
of  triumph  over  the-  fallen  foe,  the  glee  of  the  savage 
as  he  applies  his  instruments  of  torture.  The  desire 
of  man  for  such  entertainment  is  seen  in  the  gladia- 
torial combat,  the  tournament,  the  bull-fight,  the  cock- 
figlit,  etc.  This  source  of  pleasure  belongs  to  barba- 
rism, and  yet  it  is,  even  in  our  day,  too  prevalent. 
As  evidence  of  this  we  may  but  mention  base-ball, 
fist-fighting,  and  walking-matches.  It  is  also  this  relic 
of  barbarism  in  the  boy  and  the  young  man  which 
gives  rise  to  the  practical  jokes  so  common  in  small 
towns — such  as  breaking  windows,  painting  fences, 
abusing  stock,  defacing  walls,  etc.  The  same  vaga- 
bondage is  seen  among  college  students  in  the  pranks 
•they  play  upon  each  other  and  upon  the  professors. 
That  people  find  pleasure  in  such  things  is  simply  an 
evidence  that  they  belong  rather  to  the  age  of  sav- 
agery than  to  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  the  third  cause  of  emotion  in  this  class,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  nothing  barbarous.  This  is  the 
pleasure  we  feel  in  consequence  of  a  sense  of  power. 
We  enjoy  labor  and  delight  in  overcoming  the  ordi- 
nary obstacles  in  the  way  of  our  advancement.  The 
accomplishment  of  a  desired  end,  in  spite  of  great 
difficulties,  is  a  source  of  exquisite  enjoyment.  There 
is  no  higher  worldly  pleasure  than  that  which  we  feel 
when  we  honestly  win  success  in  business  or  profes- 


148  lyAUGHING   AND   CrYING. 

sion  This  pleasure,  too,  is  heightened  when  our  suc- 
cess tends  to  the  good,  rather  than  to  the  injury,  of 
others. 

(c)  Inco7igriiity. — The  third  cause  of  laughter  is  in- 
congruity. This  principle,  no  doubt,  extends  its  op- 
erations to  the  cases  included  under  the  last  head,  but 
is  not  sufficient  to  explain  them  all.  There  is  certain 
incongruity  in  the  position  of  the  victor  and  the  con- 
quered foe,  but  this  is  not  the  real  source  of  the  ex- 
ultation of  the  one,  nor  of  the  debasement  of  the 
other. 

Under  incongruity  may  be  classed  all  sorts  of 
humor,  jokes,  puns,  repartee,  etc.  This  is  the  most 
common  source  of  laughter,  is  largely  intellectual,  is 
innocent  and  exhilarating ;  is  not  accompanied  by  any 
special  injury  or  debasement  of  the  one  who  gets  the 
worst  of  it,  and  is  also  that  which  has  the  most  salu- 
tary hygienic  effect.  Hence,  efforts  to  entertain, 
whether  in  society,  on  the  platform,  or  on  the  stage, 
usually  appeal  to  our  sense  of  the  incongruous. 

As  examples  of  incongruity  we  give  the  following : 
A  dog  in  church,  a  high  hat  on  a  little  man,  a  woman's 
bonnet  on  a  little  girl,  bravado  of  a  weak  individual^ 
in  the  presence  of  a  strong  one,  the  barking  of  a  little 
dog  at  a  train.  If  both  objects  are  presented  at  once, 
it  is  an  example  of  simple  incongruity.  If  one  is  pre- 
sented after  the  other,  the  occasion  of  the  laughter  is 
the  insignificance  of  the  result  compared  with  the  ex- 
pectation. This  is  the  secret  of  most  humor.  It  is 
the  sudden  release  of  nervous  tension,  an  unexpected 
turn  of  thought. 

The  incongruous  becomes  ludicrous  when  there  is 
the  degradation  of  some  character  of  dignity.  It  is 
comic  when  there  is  a  reaction  from  the  serious,  or 


Laughing  and  Crying.  149 

when  much  is  made  of  a  little  thing.  It  is  ridiculous 
when  the  action  is  unbecoming,  and  more  so  when  the 
actor  thinks  he  is  doing  the  proper  thing. 

An  incident  in  church  will  cause  laughter  when  it 
would  attract  no  attention  elsewhere.  The  dignity  of 
the  occasion  and  place  are  profaned.  A  dog  entering 
a  school-room  will  set  the  whole  school  to  laughing. 
For  a  person  of  great  dignity,  particularly  if  he  is 
well  dressed,  to  fall  down  in  the  mud  is  quite  ludi- 
crous, while  if  the  cart  driver,  already  muddy,  were  to 
do  so  it  would  occasion  no  laughter.  A  child  seriously 
mimicking  its  elders  is  comical,  and  a  boy  carr^-ing  a 
cane  and  smoking  a  cigarette  is  ridiculous. 

Let  us  look  at  some  illustrations  of  the  effects  of 
advantage  and  incongruity.  First  take  some  examples 
of  simple  incongruity: 

A  minister  one  day  said  in  his  pulpit :  "  We  pursue  a 
shadow — the  bubble  bursts  and  leaves  ashes  in  our  hands." 

The  incongruity  here  lies  in  the  mixing  of  rhetorical 
figures. 

An  Irishman  apologized  for  running  away  from  a  fight  in 
these  words:  "  Bedad,  I  'd  rather  be  a  coward  for  fifteen  min- 
utes than  a  corpse  for  the  rest  of  my  life." 

Here  the  incongruity  is  so  mixed  that  its  full  force 
is  not  seen  at  once.  As  the  mind  dwells  upon  it,  it 
becomes  more  and  more  amusing.  This  quality  adds 
richness  to  humor. 

A  Cape  Cod  fisherman  calls  his  boat  "  The  Kiss,"  because  it 
is  nothing  but  a  smack. 

A  Western  boy  ran  for  Congress  when  he  was  only  fourteen 
years  old.     He  was  page  in  the  House. 

A  hawk  may  get  the  rooster  after  breakfast,  but  before 
breakfast  the  rooster  alwaj-s  takes  a  crow. 


150  lyAUGHING   AND    CrYING. 

In  these  three  examples  the  humor  consists  in  a 
simple  play  upon  words.  This  is,  indeed,  the  poorest 
of  humor.  There  is  no  release  of  tension  and  not 
sufficient  incongruity  to  produce  much  emotion.  The 
following  is  better,  because  more  complex : 

Harry  (horrified  at  seeing  Kate  puffing  at  a  cigarette): 
"Mercy!  Do  you  smoke,  Kate?"  Kate:  "Not  because  I 
enjoy  it,  Harry.  I  want  to  fill  the  room  with  smoke,  so  that, 
should  a  burglar  break  in,  he  '11  think  there 's  a  man  in  the 
house."  Harry:  "Well,  you're  only  losing  your  time  and 
soiling  your  lips.  A  man  never  smokes  cigarettes — leastwise 
no  man  that  a  burglar  need  be  afraid  of." — Bostott  Tra?istript. 

We  may  mention  the  conundrum  as  the  next  ex- 
ample of  humor.  It  is  a  little  better  than  the  pun,  be- 
cause it  brings  in  the  element  of  expectation,  or 
search  for  the  answer,  and  when  the  answer  is  given 
there  is  a  feeling  of  surprise  or  release  of  tension.  A 
"simple  example  is  the  following : 

Why  would  a  barber  rather  shave  three  Irishmen  than  one 
German  ?  Because  he  would  get  forty-five  cents  from  the 
three  Irishmen,  and  only  fifteen  cents  from  the  German. 

The  following  is  not  so  good,  because  it  is  only' a 
play  upon  words : 

What  kind  of  a  field  is  older  than  you?  One  that  is  pastur- 
age. 

Here  is  one  that  is  particularly  rich,  because  of  the 
mixed  elements  which  enter  it.  It  is  at  once  a  co- 
nundrum and  a  pun,  and  gives  surprise  and  release 
of  tension.  Furthermore,  it  has  the  peculiar  excel- 
lence of  not  letting  its  full  force  be  seen  at  once.  It 
is  this : 

"  What  is  the  difference  between  the  fate  of  the  barber  and 
that  of  the  sculptor  ?  "  "  Que  curls  up  and  dyes  and  the  other 
makes  faces  and  busts." 


I/AUGHING   AND   CrYING.  I5I 

We  may  take  some  examples  in  whicli  advantage  is 
the  chief  element  of  humor : 

"  I  move — "  begaa  a  member  of  Congress,  wlien  a  voice  in 
the  gallery  called,  "Not  until  you  pay  your  rent." — Harper's 
Bazar. 

Here  are  combined  the  double  meaning  of  the 
word  "  move  "  and  the  exposure  of  the  Congressman. 

"  I  never  saw  my  hands  so  dirty  as  yours,"  said  a  mother  to 
a  little  girl.  "  I  guess  grandma  has,"  was  the  quick  reply. — 
Boston  Jotirnal. 

This  is  an  example  of  simple  advantage,  and  its  ex- 
cellence consists  in  the  disparity  between  the  mother 
andthe  child. 

The  following  are  examples  of  mixed  advantage 
and  incongruity : 

"Gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  said  counsel  in  an  agricultural 
case,  "there  were  thirty-six  hogs  in  that  lot — thirty-six.  I 
want  you  to  remember  that  number — thirty-six  hogs — ^just 
three  times  t'he  number  that  there  are  in  the  jury-box." — 
Albany  Law  Journal. 

Daughter,  aged  thirty-three  (facetiously)  :  "  Papa,  I  found  a 
dozen  gray  hairs  in  my  head  this  morning  and  pulled  them 
out.  Don't  you  give  me  away,  though."  Father  (sighing 
heavily)  :  "Give  you  away,  Emily?  I've  abandoned  all  hope 
of  it." — Chicago  Tribune. 

"  Lulu,  dear,"  said  the  lovely  Widow  Hoskins,  "  at  last  I 
have  settled  my  last  summer's  ice  bill.  It  was  an  outrageous 
amount,  but  I  had  to  meet  the  emergency."  "  How  did  you 
ever  settle  it?"  inquired  Lulu.  "I  have  married  the  ice 
man." — New  York  Dispatch. 

"  Hold  on,  sis!  "  exclaimed  one  of  the  little  Rambo  boys,  as 
he  paused  at  the  door ;  "  do  n't  go  into  the  house.  The  min- 
ister is  making  a  call."  "How  do  you  know?"  inquired  his 
little  sister.  "Can't  you  hear  ma  talking?  She's  got  her 
Sunday  voice  on." — Chicago  Tribune. 


152  Laughing  and  Crying. 

Corroboration. — Said  Paddleford  to  his  vnfe,  on  the  way 
back  from  the  museum  :  "  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  women 
have  an  innate,  natural,  constitutional  love  of  the  horrible." 
"  Good  thing  for  you,"  she  retorted,  "  or  you  might  have  been 
a  bachelor  to  j-our  dying  day." — Li/e. 

Ex-Secretar>'  Evarts  tells  a  good  story  at  his  own  expense 
about  a  small  donkey  which  he  sent  up  to  his  country-seat 
some  years  ago  for  the  use  of  his  children,  of  whom  some 
were  then  quite  young.  One  of  his  little  daughters,  going 
out  with  her  nurse  to  admire  the  animal  in  its  paddock,  was 
sorely  distressed  when  the  donkey  lifted  up  its  voice  and 
brayed  dolefully.  "  Poor  thing !  Poor  thing !  "  exclaimed  the 
sympathetic  child ;  but,  suddenly  brightening  up,  she  turned 
to  her  nurse  and  said,  "  O  I  am  so  glad !  Papa  will  be  here  on 
Saturday,  and  then  it  won't  feel  so  lonesome." 

The  foregoing  examples  are  sufficient  to  illustrate 
these  sources  of  laughter.  If  such  things  are  con- 
tinuously brought  before  the  mind,  it  soon  tires  of 
them.  This  is  because  they  fail  to  raise  the  nervous 
tension,  and  no  longer  create  surprise,  just  as  one  can 
not  be  frightened  when  one  is  expecting  a  scare. 
They  are  rather  the  spice  of  life.  A  lecture  or  a  book 
wholly  composed  of  them  would  be  like  a  dinner  of 
pepper,  salt,  and  vinegar. 

III.    PSYCHO-PHYSIOI.OGICAL. 

We  have  seen  that  the  immediate  cause  of  laughter 
is  muscular  action,  and  that  the  cause  of  the  muscular 
action  is  emotion.  We  have  also  briefly  considered 
the  sources  of  emotion.  We  are  next  met  with  the 
questions:  How  does  emotion  produce  muscular  ac- 
tion ?  Why  does  it  affect  one  muscle  rather  than  an- 
other ?  Why  are  the  muscles  of  the  face  the  muscles, 
by  pre-eminence,  of  emotional  expressions  ?  Why  do 
certain  muscles  act  in  laughing  and  others  in  crying? 


Laughing  and  Crying.  153 

Why  do  the  same  muscles  act  for  the  same  expression 
in  all  men  and  in  all  nations  ? 

The  full  answer  to  these  questions  would  lead  me 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  this  paper.  I  can  only  make 
a  few  suggestions,  and  refer  you  for  further  informa- 
tion on  the  subject  to  Bain's  Emotions  and  the  Will, 
Bain's  Senses  and  the  Intellect,  Sir  Charles  Bell's 
Anatomy  of  Expressions,  Spencer's  Physiolog}'  of 
Laughter,  Darwin's  Emotional  Expressions  in  Man 
and  Animals. 

To  the  question,  "  How  does  emotion  produce  mus- 
cular action?  "  we  have  as  yet  no  satisfactorj-  answer. 
It  must  remain  unanswered  until  the  mystery  of  the 
connection  of  the  mind  and  body  is  explained. 

In  regard  to  the  second  question,  "  Why  does  emo- 
tion move  one  muscle  to  action  rather  than  another?  " 
I  submit  the  following  general  explanation  : 

Emotion  means  an  accumulation  in  the  nerve  cen- 
ters of  nerve  force  which  has  a  tendency  to  flow  out- 
ward through  the  motor  tracks  to  all  parts  of  the  body. 
The  law  of  the  flow  of  the  nerve  stimulus  is  that  it 
takes  the  direction  of  least  resistance,  and  if  its  flow 
in  one  direction  is  impeded,  it  takes  another.  If 
the  emotion  is  slight,  the  motor  effect  is  small,  and 
the  excess  of  energy  is  readily  dissipated  along  those 
tracks  through  which  it  finds  easiest  flow.  If,  how- 
ever, the  emotion  is  powerful  and  the  charge  of  en- 
ergy very  great,  the  stimulus  may  flow  to  all  parts  of 
the  body,  and  not  onlj'  bring  all  the  muscles  into 
action,  but,  through  inhibition  and  stimulation,  affect 
the  organic  and  vital  processes  of  the  body.  Thus 
the  heart's  action,  respiration,  digestion,  and  assimila- 
tion may  be  interfered  with.  The  vital  processes  may 
even  be  suspended,  producing  death  itself. 


154  lyAUGHING  AND    CrYING. 

If  the  emotion  is  restrained,  and  the  nervous  flow 
in  any  channel  is  impeded,  there  will  be  a  tendency 
to  escape  in  some  other  direction,  It  is  thus  that  pro- 
longed grief  affects  the  vital  processes  of  the  body 
and  the  health  of  the  individual  more  when  restrained 
and  concealed  than  when  allowed  to  produce  its  nor- 
mal effect,  weeping.  If  the  restraint  to  the  nervous 
flow  is  general  the  tension  increases  until  there  is  an 
outburst.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  outbursts  of  laugh- 
ing and  crying  in  children  when  under  restraint. 

In  reference  to  the  next  question,  "  Why  should 
emotional  expressions  be  primarily  in  the  face?  "  the 
following  is  a  possible  explanation  :  The  nerves  which 
supply  the  face  have  their  origin  in  the  medulla  ob- 
longata. This  is  the  nearest  motor  center  to  the 
brain,  and  the«nerves  which  leave  it  reach  their  desti- 
nation in  the  shortest  distance.  The  direction  of 
least  resistance  would  then  naturally  be  toward  the 
muscles  of  the  face.  The  course  of  the  nerve  stimu- 
lus once  started  in  this  direction  would  finally  be- 
come fixed  by  habit  and  use. 

Darwin,  consistently  with  his  theory,  explains  all 
expressions  of  emotion  by  three  principles,  as  follows : 

1.  The  principle  of  serviceable  associated  habits. 

2.  The  principle  of  antithesis.  When  an  act  has 
been  found  serviceable  in  a  certain  state  of  the  mind, 
there  is  a  tendency  to  an  opposite  act  when  the  oppo- 
site state  of  the  mind  ensues. 

3.  The  principle  of  actions  due  to  the  constitution 
of  the  nervous  system,  independently  from  the  first  of 
the  will,  and  independently  to  a  certain  extent  of  habit. 

This  last  is  the  same  in  essence  as  the  one  I  have 
given,  and  no  doubt  is  the  correct  proximate  answer 
to  the  question. 


Laughing  and  Crying.  155 

As  to  the  other  questions,  "  Why  do  certain  muscles 
act  in  laughing  and  others  in  crying?"  and,  "Why 
do  the  same  muscles  act  for  the  same  expression  in 
all  men  and  in  all  nations?"  I  think  they  find  suffi- 
cient explanation  in  habit  and  heredity.  This  expla- 
nation is  the  more  probably  true,  since  we  find,  in  fact, 
that  there  is  a  degree  of  variety  in  the  expressions  of 
different  individuals  and  in  people  of  different  nations. 
For  example,  the  shrug  of  the  shoulders  so  common 
in  Europe  is  seldom  seen  in  America.  Again,  the 
degree  of  emotion  which  would  cause  merry  laughter 
in  an  American  would  scarcely  call  forth  a  smile  in  a 
German.  Thus,  while  the  structure  of  the  muscular 
and  nervous  systems  locates  expression  in  the  face, 
individual  variety  and  national  differences  depend 
•upon  habit  and  heredity. 

IV.    EFFECTS.  • 

We  next  come  to  consider  the  reflex  effects  of 
laughing  and  crying  upon  mankind.  They  are  (i) 
individual,  (2)  social,  and  (3)  national. 

The  individual  ^ects  are  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance. They  are  hygienic,  and  deser\'e  the  closest 
attention.  There  is  profound  physiological  wisdom 
in  the  old  adage,  "Laugh  and  grow  fat."  There  is 
no  fact  better  established  than  that  cheerfulness  is 
conducive  to  health.  It  is  not  only  so  in  a  general 
way,  but  it  has  a  special  direct  influence  on  the  vital 
functions,  and  the  effect  is  immediately  felt.  A  cheer- 
ful conversation  in  genial  society  is  better  than  any 
digestive  preparation  that  can  be  devised.  So  there 
is  no  better  preparation  for  a  sound  sleep  than  a  hearty 
laugh. 

On  the  other  hand,  grief  interferes  with  digestion 


156  Laughing  and  Crying. 

and  assimilation,  and  depresses  the  vital  energies,  and 
causes  loss  both  of  flesh  and  activity.  The  jolly  man 
is  the  fat  man,  and  the  grumbler  is  the  lean  man.*' 
This  is  a  general  rule  to  which  we  must  of  course 
admit  exceptions.  Here  it  is  pertinent  to  ask  the 
question  whether  it  is  the  fat  that  makes  the  man 
jolly,  or  the  jollity  that  makes  the  man  fat;  and 
again,  whether  it  is  the  leanness  that  makes  one  cross, 
or  the  crossness  that  makes  one  lean.  In  answer  I 
say,  "  In  both  cases  it  is  both."  Cheerfulness  and 
good  health  go  together,  and  each  assists  the  other. 
There  is  a  point,  however,  in  the  injunction  to  be 
cheerful,  for  this  is  to  a  certain  extent  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  will.  We  can  yield  to  our  annoj^ances  and 
griefs  and  make  ourselves  continuously  miserable. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  can  resist  this  disposition  and 
preserve  a  cheerful  mind  even  under  very  trying  cir- 
cumstances. Unfortunately,  too,  many  of  our  ills  are 
imaginary,  and  we  are  continually  distressing  ourselves 
without  cause,  to  the  injury  of  our  health  and  the  dis- 
comfort of  those  with  whom  we  are  associated.  Ill- 
health  brings  sad  and  gloomy  feelings,  and  these  are 
often  the  only  signs  we  have  of  the  waning  health.  So 
you  see  grief,  sadness,  and  crying  are  sometimes  the 
legitimate  subjects  of  medical  treatment. 

Now,  it  is  not  the  laughing  nor  the  crying  which 
produces  these  hygienic  effects.  It  is  rather  the  emo- 
tions or  states  of  mind  of  which  these  acts  are  the 
expression.  Grief  leaves  the  system  prostrated,  while 
joy  buoys  it  up  and  has  a  tonic  effect. 

From  the  social  point  of  view,  crying  need  not  be 
considered,  since  it  is  not  usually  publicly  exhibited. 
Laughing,  or  rather  the  cheerfulness  of  which  it  is 
the  index,  is,  however,  a  most  potent  factor  in  all 


lyAUGHING  AND    CrYING.  1 57 


society.  Society  without  laughter  would  be  dull  and 
stupid.  Here  the  object  is  to  please,  and  one  must 
seem  pleased  whether  one  is  or  not.  One  laughs  to 
please  and  the  other  laughs  to  appear  pleased.  Hence, 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  artificial  laughter  mixed  up 
with  the  genuine  article. 

Looked  at  from  a  national  point  of  view,  we  see  at 
once  that  there  is  a  great  difierence  in  the  amount  of 
laughing  and  crying  done  in  different  countries.  The 
Americans  are  pre-eminently  the  laughing,  smiling 
people  of  the  world.  They  are,  on  the  whole,  more 
cheerful  than  any  other  people  that  I  have  met.  The 
French  are  more  talkative  and  polite,  the  English 
'more  bent  on  enjoyment,  and  the  Germans  more  given 
to  self-gratification,  but  nowhere  are  found  so  many 
pleasing,  smiling,  laughing  faces  as  in  this  happy 
land  of  ours.  This  is  because  our  people  are  better 
fed,  better  clothed,  make  a  living  more  easily,  and 
have  more  freedom  of  life  than  is  the  case  in  other 
countries.  Another,  and  perhaps  a  better,  reason  is 
because  the  American  people,  as  a  whole,  have  more 
culture,  have  a  higher  standard  of  morality  and  Chris- 
tian life,  have  a  better  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and 
look  more  closely  to  the  moral  training  of  the  children 
than  do  the  people  of  any  other  nation.  Righteous- 
ness not  only  exalts  a  nation,  but  also  fills  the  mouths 
of  its  people  with  laughter  and  song. 

V.     MEANS    USED    FOR   THE    PRODUCTION    OP    LAUGH- 
ING  AND  CRYING. 

Since  it  is  through  our  emotional  nature  that  we  re- 
ceive or  experience  chiefly  our  joys  and  our  sorrows, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  we  find  various  devices  sys- 
tematically arranged  for  arousing  these  emotions,  or, 


158  I^AUGHING    AND    CrYING. 

in  other  words,  for  causing  laughing  and  crying. 
Among  the  means  so  used  I  may  mention  (i)  litera- 
ture, (2)  conversation,  and  (3)  the  stage.  The  joke, 
pun,  etc.,  are  special  means  which  may  be  used  in  lit- 
erature or  conversation. 

1.  Literature. — Fiction  is  the  literature  that  is  chiefly 
used  for  entertainment.  To  this  we  may  add  true 
stories,  historical  incidents,  j^urely  humorous  writ- 
ings, comic  songs,  etc.  The  prhiiary  object  of  fiction 
is  to  arouse  the  emotions.  Useful  information  is  also 
imparted  in  the  lines  of  history,  science,  n;orals,  phi- 
losophy, etc.,  but  these  are  usually  a  secondary  consid- 
eration. A  novel  which  will  cause  one  neither  to 
laugh  nor  shed  a  tear  would  generally  be  a  failure.  It 
would  have  to  have  very  peculiar  excellences  of  other 
kinds  to  make  it  attain  popularity. 

2.  Co7iversation. — It  is  a  fact  too  well  established 
that  the  object  of  conversation  is  generally  simply  to 
entertain.  In  society  this  may  be  said  to  be  almost  its 
sole  object.  Among  the  older  people  it  loses  this 
character  to  a  certain  extent.  But  this  continues  al- 
ways to  be  one  of  the  ends  in  view  in  all  conversation. 
Even  the  soberest  colloquies  are  often  spiced  with 
repartee  which  brings  the  smile  or  burst  of  laughter. 

3.  The  Stage. — Under  this  head  is  included  the 
theater,  the  opera,  the  circus,  the  minstrel  show,  pri- 
vate theatricals,  the  lecture,  etc.  These  grade  from 
the  purely  instructive  in  the  didactic  lecture  and  ser- 
mon through  the  humorous,  in  the  popular  lecture, 
the  comedy  and  the  comic  opera,  and  the  pathetic  in 
the  drama  and  opera  proper  to  the  highly  pathetic 
and  tragic  in  the  modern  society  play  and  the  tragedy. 
To  this  may  be  also  added  the  music  concert  and  re- 
cital. 


Laughing  and  Crying.  159 

vi.    history. 

The  study  of  the  history  of  the  development  of 
laughing  and  crying  in  the  human  race  would  be  an 
interesting  one,  but  I  have  space  here  to  make  only  a 
few  suggestions. 

In  earlier  man  and  in  the  uncultivated  races  crying 
was  almost  wholly  an  index  of  physical  pain,  and 
laughing  w^as  rather  the  manifestation  of  delight  at 
the  overcoming  of  an  adversary  than  the  result  of 
pure  humor. 

At  the  present  day  these  acts  are  more  intellectual 
and  refined.  The  delight  of  the  savage  in  the  tor- 
ment of  his  captive  has  given  place  to  the  exhilara- 
tion of  seeing  one's  adversary  smart  under  the  lash 
of  ridicule. 

These  brutal  and  savage  enjoyments  have,  however, 
not  all  disappeared.  The  life  of  an  individual  is  but 
the  life  of  the  human  race  in  miniature.  The  practical 
joke  is  a  relic  of  ancient  barbarism.  It  is  mostly  in- 
dulged in  by  the  young  and  uncultured — those  who 
have  not  yet  passed  out  of  the  period  of  savagery. 
When  the  young  man  allows  himself  to  be  led  into 
such  acts  as  defacing  public  property,  lifting  gates, 
turning  bridges,  shooting  at  windows,  etc.,  he  is  but 
doing  in  a  milder  way  what  the  savage  did  when  he 
put  his  prisoner  to  torture,  and  his  pranks  are  no 
more  amusing  to  the  sober  people  of  the  community 
than  are  the  writhings  of  the  Indian's  victim. 

Let  us  hope  and  pray  for  the  time  when  sorrow  and 
mourning  shall  be  known  no  more ;  when  the  laugh 
of  the  bacchanal,  the  glee  of  the  victor,  and  the  sneer 
of  the  scorner  shall  give  place  to  the  smile  of  affec- 
.tion,  and  when  the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
pleasure  and  innocent  joy. 


SUPERSTITION. 


J.  D.  KIRKPATRICK,  D.D., 
Murdock  Professor  of  Cburch  History. 

This  is  a  most  interesting  theme  to  the  student  of 
history.  The  study  of  the  history  of  man  is,  to  a  large 
extent,  the  study  of  his  religion  and  his  religious  con- 
dition. 

It  is  said  that  "  man  is  a  religious  being  or  ani- 
mal." This  is  true,  and  if  we  take  the  Bible  for  our 
guide  in  reference  to  his  beginning,  we  find  that  he 
came  from  the  hands  of  his  Creator  endowed  with  a 
knowledge  of  his  duty  in  paying  homage  to  the  Deity. 
We  have  an  account  of  God  walking  in  the  garden 
and  talking  to  the  first  man.  Thus  the  impression 
was  made  upon  him  very  early  that  there  was  a  higher 
power,  before  which  he  should  bow  down  and  wor- 
ship. There  this  principle  was  instilled  into  him,  and 
his  mind  went  out  after  and  up  to  the  unseen,  and  this 
disposition  has  been  a  part  of  his  nature  ever  since— 
in  the  darkest  and  deepest  ignorance,  as  well  as  in  the 
light  of  civilization.  As  Adam  was  taught  to  com- 
mune with  God,  so  his  posterity,  in  almost  every  con- 
dition in  which  they  have  been  found,  seek  the 
invisible  and  bow  down  to  the  supernatural. 

My  theme,  however,  is  superstition,  and  not  re- 
ligion ;  but  let  us  see  how  nearly  they  are  the  same. 
Webster  gives  a  long  definition  of  superstition,  thus : 
"  False  religion,  or  excessive  exactness  or  rigor  in  re- 
ligious opinions  or  practices,  extreme  and  unnecessary 
(i6o) 


Superstition.  i6i 

scruples  in  the  observance  of  religious  rites  not  com- 
manded." 

Taking  this  definition,  we  have  a  subject  of  wonder- 
ful interest  and  scope,  and  which  can  not  be  more 
than  touched  in  a  lecture  of  ordinary  length. 

For  some  years  past  there  has  been  increasing  in- 
terest in  the  study  of  archaeological  subjects.  Nu- 
merous recent  discoveries  concerning  the  early  con- 
dition and  history  of  the  human  race  have  directed 
much  attention  to  these  subjects.  Traditional  his- 
tory, crystallized  in  myths,  superstitious  beliefs,  rites, 
and  ceremonies,  omens  and  prognostications,  throws 
much  light  into  a  past  which  written  historj^  has  not 
penetrated.  Mythology  is  becoming  an  important 
branch  of  anthropological  science.  In  its  broadest 
sense,  mythology  includes  all  pagan  religious  beliefs, 
generally  called  superstitions.  It  should  not  be  con- 
fined, however,  to  collections  of  fables  and  traditions. 
In  studying  myths,  should  we  not  study  the  supersti- 
tions which  have  found  expression  in  them?  The 
myths,  fables,  and  traditions  are  the  folk-lore  of  peo- 
pleSj  pointing  back  to  superstitions  which,  if  thor- 
oughly studied,  might  prove  a  common  origin  of  all 
the  tribes  and  races  of  men.  There  are  those  learned 
in  archaeology  and  mythology  who  are  now  studying 
the  various  forms  of  folk-lore  as  an  important  help  in 
finding  the  true  history  of  the  race. 

Professor  George  Rawlinson,  one  of  the  most  re- 
liable writers  on  the  religions  of  the  ancient  nations, 
says : 

"  Our  '  advanced  thinkers '  advance  to  the  farthest 

limits  of  human  knowledge,  sometimes  even  beyond 

them,  and  bewitch  us  with  speculations  which  are  as 

beautiful  and  unsubstantial  as  the  bubbles  which  a 

II 


i62  Superstition. 

child  produces  with  a  little  soap  and  water  and  a  to- 
bacco pipe.  Nor  does  even  religion  escape.  The  his- 
torical method  of  inquirj^  into  the  past  facts  of  re- 
ligion is  in  danger  of  being  superseded  by  speculations 
concerning  what  is  called  its. 'philosophy,'  or  its 
science.  We  are  continually  invited  to  accept  the 
views  of  this  or  that  theorist  respecting  the  origin  of 
all  religions,  which  are  attributed  to  a  common,  in- 
nate idea  or  instinct,  or  else  to  a  common  mode  of 
reasoning  upon  the  phenomena  and  experience  of 
human  life.  While  the  facts  of  ancient  religions  are 
only  just  emerging  from  the  profound  obscurit}^  that 
has  hitherto  rested  upon  them,  fancy  is  busy  con- 
structing schemes  and  systems  which  have  about  as 
much  reality  as  the  imaginations  of  a  novelist." 

The  patient  toiler,  the  true  scholar,  the  real  scien- 
tist, are  not  seeking  the  "  short  and  easy  method  "  of 
jumping  at  conclusions  and  laj-ing  down  as  certainties 
what  are  "  mere  guesses  at  the  truth,"  but  proceed  in 
the  more  prosaic  way  of  collecting  material  in  facts 
which  are  found  pointing  to  great  truths.  There  is  no 
branch  of  history  which  is  more  instructive  and  en- 
tertaining than  that  which  deals  with  religious  beliefs 
and  practices.  Religion  is  the  most  important  elo,- 
m^nt  in  the  thought  of  a  nation ;  and  it  is  by  studying 
their  religions  that  we  obtain  the  best  clew  to  the 
inner  life  and  character  of  the  various  peoples  who 
have  pla^-ed  an  important  part  in  the  drama  of  human 
affairs. 

So  far  as  we  can  learn,  nearly  all  the  religions  of 
the  ancient  world  were  pol3'theistic,  but  in  them  all 
the  careful  student  may.  find  the  evidence  of  a  mono- 
theism in  their  origin.  It  is  believed  that  there  never 
was  a  polytheism  that  was  not  monotheistic  in  its 


Superstition.  163 

origin,  and  that  a  monotheism  can  be  traced  in  all  the 
polytheistic  systems  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge ; 
and  the  similarity  of  these  systems  is  used  as  evidence 
of  the  unity  of  the  races. 

The  most  ancient*  religion  of  which  we  have  any 
history  is  one  of  the  most  prominently  polytheistic, 
yet  the  best  scholars  and  those  most  reliable  upon  this 
subject  claim  that  it  is  really  monotheistic. 

Emanuel  Rouge,  who  is  high  authority  upon  this 
subject,  says : 

"No.  one' has  called  in  question  the  fundamental 
meaning  of  the  principal  passages  by  the  help  of 
which  we  are  able  to  establish  what  ancient  Egj'pt 
has  taught  concerning  God,  the  world,  and  man.  I 
said  '  God,  7iot  the  g-ods?  The  first  characteristic  of 
the  religion  is  the  unity  (of  God)  most  energetically 
expressed :  '  God,  One,  Sole,  and  Only ;  no  others  with 
him.  He  is  the  only  Being — living  in  truth.  Thou 
art  One,  and  millions  of  beings  proceed  from  thee. 
He  has  made  every  thing,  and  he  alone  has  not  been 
made.'  The  clearest,  the  simplest,  the  most  precise 
conception. 

"  But  how  reconcile  the  unity  of  God  with  Egyptian 
'polytheism?  History  and  geography  will  perhaps 
elucidate  the  matter.  The  Egyptian  religion  compre- 
hends a  number  of  local  worships.  The  Egypt  which 
Menes  brought  together  entire  under  his  scepter  was 
divided  into  nomes,  each  having  a  capital  town.  Each 
of  these  regions  has  its  principal  god,  designated  by 
a  special  name,  but  it  is  always  the  same  doctrine 
which  reappears  under  different  names.  One  idea 
predominates — that  of  a  single  and  primeval  god. 
Everywhere  and  alwa3's  it  is  one  substance,  self-ex- 
istent, and  an  unapproachable  God." 


164  Superstition. 

Our  author  then  says  "that  from,  or  rather  before, 
the  beginniug  of  the  historic  period,  the  pure  mono- 
theistic religion  passed  through  the  phase  of  Sabaism. 
The  sun,  instead  of  being  considered  as  the  symbol 
of  life,  was  taken  as  the  manifestation  of  God  himself.. 
In  most  of  the  hymns  we  find  the  idea  of  a  double 
Being  who  engendereth  himself — the  soul  in  twins. 
A  hymn  in  the  lycyden  Museum  calls  him  '  the  One 
of  One.'  Were  these  doctrines  the  result  of  centuries? 
Certainly  not,  for  they  were  in  existence  more  than 
two  thousand  jxars  before  the  Christian  era.  On  the 
other  hand,  polytheism  developed  itself  and  progressed 
without  interruption  until  the  times  of  the  Ptolemies. 
It  is  therefore  more  than  five  thousand  years  since,  in 
the  valley  of  the  Nile,  the  hymn  began  to  the  unity 
of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  we  find 
that  Egypt  in  the  last  ages  had  arrived  at  the  most 
unbridled  polytheism.  The  belief  in  the  unity  of  the 
supreme  God  and  in  his  attributes  as  Creator  and 
Law-giver  of  man,  whom  he  has  endowed  with  an 
immortal  soul — these  are  the  primitive  notions,  en- 
chased like  indestructible  diamonds  in  the  midst  of 
the  mythyological  superfetations  accumulated  in  the 
centuries  which  have  passed  over  that  ancient  civili- 
zation." 

Even  in  their  corrupt  polytheism  we  see  that  in 
pre-historic  times  tlie  Egyptians  had  the  knowledge 
of  the  one  only  true  and  living  God ;  but  this  knowl- 
edge had  degenerated  until,  when  history  finds  them, 
their  religion  has  become  nothing  more  than  super- 
stition. 

The  most  striking  characteristics  of  the  Egyptian 
Pantheon  were  its  multitudinousness  and  complexity. 
Wilkinson,  who  does  not  pretend  to  exhaust  the  sub- 


Superstition.  165 

ject,  mentions  sevent5--three  divinities  and  gives  their 
several  names  and  forms.  Birch  has  a  list  of  sixty- 
three  principal  deities,  and  says  there  were  many  oth- 
ers. It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  perhaps,  that  the 
Egyptian  Pantheon  contained  some  hundreds  of  gods 
and  goddesses.  They  had  a  god  over  almost  every 
single  thing.  The  earl}'  Christians  were  charged  by 
the  Romans  of  atheism,  because  they  believed  in  only 
one  true  and  living  God,  and  consequently  denied 
their  gods  many. 

This  superstition  had,  at  the  dawn  of  the  historic 
period,  taken  such  a  hold  upon  the  world  that  God 
called  and  set  apart  one  man  and  his  descendants 
after  him,  and  made  them  his  peculiar  people,  that  he 
might  teach  them  the  knowledge  of  the  one  true  God, 
and  that  they  might  become  a  light  to  the  world  to 
lead  it  away  from  poh'theism,  and  consequent  idol- 
atry, to  this  true  knowledge  and  original  worship. 
Idolatry  was  considered  the  greatest  sin,  as  it  led  to  the 
basest  superstitions,  as  well  as  to  the  denial  of  the 
existence  of  only  one  God. 

It  might  be  interesting  to  mention  some  of  the 
-Strange  notions  and  practices  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians and  other  peoples  who  held  to  a  plurality  of 
gods,  but  time  does  not  permit.  Many  of  the  false 
notions  and  superstitious  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  and  Greek  churches  have  descended 
from  these  corrupt  systems  of  religion  and  philoso- 
phy and  these  ancient  heathen  forms  of  worship.  A 
devout  Roman  Catholic,  according  to  our  estimate,  is 
apt  to  be  very  superstitious.  The  doctrine  of  purga- 
tory, of  absolution  by  the  priest,  the  wicked  folly  of 
indulgences,  exorcism,  the  belief  in  the  actual  pres- 
ence of  the  body  aiid  blood  of  Christ  in  the  eucharist, 


i66  Superstition. 

the  sacred  candles  and  holy  water,  monasticism,  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy,  and  the  sign  of  the  cross  and 
counting  the  rosary  in  times  of  danger,  are  nearly  all 
relics  of  old  heathen  superstitions. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  depth  of  the  superstition 
of  the  ancient  Eg^^ptians  I  mention  some  of  their 
divinities.  Many  scholars  have  attempted  to  educe 
order  out  of  the  multitudinous  confusion  which,  to  the 
modern  mind,  attends  the  whole  system  of  Egyptian 
polytheism.  Some  have  tried  to  classify  the  deities 
and  divide  them  into  certain  ranks  or  orders,  each 
comprising  a  certain  definite  number.  Herodotus 
speaks  of  a  first,  a  second,  and  a  third  order,  and 
assigns  to  the  first  order  eight  gods,  to  the  second 
twelve,  and  to  the  third  an  indeterminate  number. 
Each  one  of  these  was  only  a  leading  or  principal 
god,  and  under  each  were  many  inferior  divinities. 

According  to  the  earliest  traditions,  the  names  of  the 
eight  in  the  first  class  were :  "  Pthah,  Ra,  Shu  (or 
Kneph),  Seb,  Osiris,  Isis,  Set,  and  Horus."  Accord- 
ing to  recent  discoveries,  there  were  at  Memphis 
Pthah,  Shu,  Tefun,  Seb,  Nu  (or  Nut),  Osiris,  Isis, 
and  Athor,  while  at  Thebes  were  Ammon,  Mentur, 
Tum  (or  Atum),  Shu,  Seb,  Osiris,  Set,  and  Horus. 
There  are  so  many  different  opinions  upon  the  sub- 
ject that  it  is  difficult  to  determine  the  names  cer- 
tainly and  especially  at  different  places. 

Ammon,  for  instance,  is  said  to  have  meant  etymo- 
logically  "  the  concealed  god,^'  and  the  idea  of  Ammon 
was  that  of  a  recondite,  incomprehensible  divinity, 
remote  from  man,  hidden,  mysterious,  the  proper 
object  of  the  profoundest  reverence.  Practically  this 
idea  was  too  abstract,  too  "  high-flown,"  says  Rawlin- 
son,    "  and   too   metaphysical  for  ordinary  minds  to 


Superstition.  167 

conceive  of  it;  and  so  Amnion  at  an  early  day  was 
conjoined  with  Ra,  the  stm,  and  worshiped  as  Ammon 
Ra,  a  very  intelligible  god,  neither  more  nor  less  than 
the  physical  sun,  the  source  of  light  and  life — '  the 
lord  of  existences  and  support  of  all  things.' 

"  Kheni  was  the  generative  principle,  the  power  of 
life  and  growth  in  nature.  He  was  rudely  and  coarsely 
represented  as  a  mummied  figure,  with  phallus  in  front 
and  forms  unsightly  objects  in  the  sculptures.  He 
presided  primarily  over  the  vegetable  world,  and  was 
the  giver  of  fertility  and  increase,  the  lord  of  the  har- 
vest and  the  patron  of  agriculture.  Man  and  all  kinds 
of  animals  were  also  under  his  charge,  and  from  him 
received  life.  He  is  called  the  '  king  of  gods,'  '  the 
lifter  of  the  hand,'  '  the  lord  of  the  crown,'  '  the  pow- 
erful.' " 

A  low  and  degrading  superstition  among  the  an- 
cient Egyptians  was  their  worship  of  animals.  At 
first  it  seems  that  in  the  minds  of  the  worshipers  cer- 
tain animals  bore  a  fancied  analogy  to  certain  gods, 
and  they  used  them  as  emblems ;  but  in  course  of  time 
the  animals  themselves  became  sacred.  Specimens  of 
these  were  attached  to  their  temples  and  kept  in  shrines 
and  carefully  fed  and  nurtured  during  life,  and  at  death 
embalmed  and  laid  away  in  sacred  repositories,  and 
sometimes  the  whole  species  was  held  as  sacred.  It 
was  unlawful  to  kill  such  animals,  and  when  they  died 
there  Vv^as  general  mourning.  Of  these  the  cow  was 
the  most  prominent  as  a  sacred  animal.  The  worship 
of  the  cow  was  not  so  degrading,  however,  as  that  of 
the  cat,  the  bat,  and  other  animals  of  low  order,  which 
they  held  in  high  estimation. 

By  studying  the  religions  of  the  Assyrians  and  Bab- 
ylonians, of  the  Iranians,  and  ancient  people  of  India, 


i68  Superstition. 

the  Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians,  the  Etruscans  and 
the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  we  find  all  the  sys- 
tems, or  all  the  religious  principles,  represented  in  the 
different  systems  of  the  ancient  world  While  devo- 
tees of  these  different  religions — these  different  and 
widely  separated  peoples — knew  little  or  nothing  about 
one  another,  there  were  similarities  in  their  systems 
and  in  the  inner  thought  and  primary  ideas  concern- 
ing the  subject  of  religion  and  the  supernatural  and 
spiritual,  which  indicate  a  common  origin. 

I  think  the  careful  student  will  find  that  with  cer- 
tain ancient  peoples  the  tendency  in  religion  and  con- 
sequent civilization  was  backward  or  downward,  while 
with  others  the  progression  was  upward,  at  least  in 
science  if  not  in  religion.  .  Much  of  the  ancient  sci- 
ence, however,  was  mere  superstition. 

The  superstitions  of  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians 
were  numerous  and  strange.  They  believed  in  charms 
of  various  kinds,  in  omens,  in  astrology,  in  spells, 
and  in  a  miraculous  power  inherent  in  an  object 
which  they  called  the  "  mamit."  What  the  "  mamit " 
was  is  uncertain.  According  to  a  sacred  legend  it 
descended  from  heaven,  and  was  a  "  treasure,"  a  "  price- 
less jewel,"  infinit'cly  more  valuable  than  any  thing 
else  on  earth.  It  was  ordinarily  kept  in  a  temple, 
but  was  sometimes  brought  to  the  bedside  of  a  sick 
j5erson  to  drive  out  the  evil  spirit  that  caused  the  dis- 
ease. 

Among  the  sacred  legends  the  following  were  re- 
markable: They  believed  that  at  a  remote  date  before 
the  creation  of  the  world  there  had  -  been  a  war  in 
heaven.  Seven  spirits,  created  by  the  god  Anu  to  be 
his  messengers,  took  counsel  together  and  resolved 
upon  a  revolt.      They  unexpectedly  made  an  attack 


Superstition.  169 

"  against  high  heaven."  The  sun,  the  moon,  and  Vul, 
the  god  of  the  atmosphere,  withstood  them,  and  after 
a  fearful  fight  beat  them  off.  They  had  several  fights, 
when  at  last  the  leader  of  these  wicked  angels  was 
slain  by  means  of  a  thunder-bolt  thrown  into  his  open 
mouth,  and  his  followers  took  to  flight  and  were  driven 
into  the  abode  of  wicked  demons,  where  they  are  con- 
fined, and  man  was  made  in  their  stead. 

The  ancient  Iranians  held  the  religion  of  Zoroaster, 
but  just  what  that  was  it  is  difficult  to  say.  They 
anciently  held  a  dualism,  a  belief  in  the  eternal  exist- 
ence of  a  good  and  an  evil  principle,  which  were  repre- 
sented by  spirit  and  matter.  Here  also  we  find  a  sys- 
tem of  fire-worship  and  all  kinds  of  magic.  It  is 
interesting  to  study  the  peculiar  superstitions  of  the 
Hindoos,  the  Phoenicians,  and  Carthaginians,  and 
others  of  their  times;  but  we  must  come  nearer  home. 

In  the  Christian  church  there  have  been  many 
ridiculous  superstitious  beliefs  and  practices.  It  is 
strange  how  people  could  be  led  to  embrace  such 
follies.  In  the  primitive  church  there  was  but  little 
less  superstition  than  in  the  middle  ages..  Saint  wor- 
ship, pilgrimages,  veneration  for  sacred  relics,  belief 
in  blessings  from  the  intercessions  of  martyrs,  and  in 
the  virtue  of  poverty  and  monkery — all  are  but  igno- 
rant superstitions. 

Who  now  could  be  led  away  by  the  teachings  of 
the  Pillar  Saints  of  the  fifth  century,  yet  they  had  a 
large  following  in  their  day.  One  Simeon,  of  Sisan, 
called  Simeon  Stylites,  a  Syrian  mystic  monk,  after 
doing  many  foolish  things,  for  which  he  was  expelled 
from  the  monastery,  betook  himself  to  a  high  mount- 
ain near  Antioch,  and  there  erected  a  pillar,  first  nine 
feet,  then  eighteen,  then  thirty-three,  then  fifty- four, 


170  Superstition. 

and  at  last  sixty  feet  high,  upon  the  top  of  which  he 
lived  for  thirty-seven  years  in  the  most  uncomfortable 
manner,  fasting,  praying,  and  exhorting  the  people. 
It  is  said  he  did  this  that  he  might  get  nearer  to 
heaven  and  suffer  for  Christ's  sake.  He  became  very 
popular,  and  great  crowds  flocked  to  him  for  lessons 
of  wisdom  and  truth  and  to  receive  his  blessings. 
This  habit  became  the  rage  with  many,  and  the  Pillar 
Saints  were  held  in  great  veneration. 

As  great  a  man  as  Augustine  believed  there  was 
virtue  in  the  bones  of  the  martyrs  in  healing  the  sick 
and  in  driving  away  evil  spirits.  Who  was  more 
superstitious  in  his  day  than  the  great  reformer,  Mar- 
tin Luther  ?  He  had  many  a  hand-to-hand  combat 
with  the  devil,  and  in  the  little  room  w'here  he  wrote 
and  prayed  in  the  castle  at  Wartburg,  the  traveler  is 
shown  the  splotch  on  the  wall  where  he  threw  his 
inkstand  at  the  devil.  Pie  was  studying  and  praying 
and  trying  to  prepare  himself  and  Germany  for  the 
great  conflict  with  error  and  its  mother,  papal  Rome, 
when  the  devil  kept  making  his  appearance,  grinning 
at  him  and  making  ugly  faces.  He  told  him  to  go 
away  and  let  him  alone,  but  the  fiend  kept  grinning 
and  making  faces  at  him;  so  he  threw  his  inkstand 
with  all  his  might.  I  do  not  know  whether  Luther 
broke  Satan's  head  or  not ;  if  he  did  it  has  been 
mended — the  wound  got  well.  Would  it  not  be  well 
for  people  in  this  day  to  believe  as  firmly  as  Luther 
did  in  the  personality  of  the  devil,  whether  they  throw 
their  inkstands  at  him  or  not?  It  is  said  he  goes  about 
like  a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour. 
Sometimes  we  hear  his  mighty  roaring,  and  we  are 
sure  he  devours  as  he  goes. 

It  is  said  Mr.  Wesley,  the  father  of  Methodism,  was 


Superstition.  171 

•exceedingly  superstitious,  and  who  of  us  are  not,  at 
least  upon  some  subjects  and  at  some  times?  Joseph 
was  not  the  last  dreamer,  nor  the  last  one  to  believe 
his  dream.  Joseph  lost  his  pretty  coat  by  telling 
his  dream,  and  we  ought  to  learn  a  lesson  by  this. 
To  the  young  men  especially  I  would  say,  If  5'ou  have 
a  dream  that  you  will  be  a  great  man  some  day,  do 
not,  like  Joseph,  tell  it  to  every  one  you  meet.  Keep 
it  to  yourself,  and  act  as  though  3"ou  had  received  no 
intimation  of  future  greatness,  otherwise  you  may  get 
■"sold,"  or  even  get  into  an  Egyptian  jail. 

The  ancients  filled  the  world  with  spirits,  and  their 
belief  in  spirit  life  manifests  and  unfolds  itself  in  all 
their  varied  superstitions.  The  places  of  the  living 
were  haunted  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  The  proc- 
ess of  tracing  all  superstitions  to  a  common  origin, 
and  discovering  the  sources  of  error  and  ignorance 
of  the  truth,  will  always  prove  an  interesting  labor 
to  the  anthropologist. 

The  orientjil  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  souls, 
the  animal  worship  of  the  Egpytians,  the  Sabaism  of 
the  Persians,  are  but  stages  of  progress  in  a  religious 
evolution.  The  ancient  religions  never  remained  the 
same  during  a  long  period.  They  were  moving  their 
adherents  either  upward  or  downward.  The  pagoda 
of  the  Orient,  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  the  temples  of 
Greece  are  but  the  representations  in  art  of  a  super- 
stition that  finds  its  first  expression  in  a  more  primi- 
tive form. 

Among  the  primitive  peoples  the  cure  of  diseases 
was  given  over  to  sorcerers,  who  were  supposed  to 
have  some  power  over  the  evil-disposed  spirits.  Sor- 
cery, under  higher  culture,  developed  into  the  priest- 
craft.    Exorcism  of  evil  spirits  still  sur^'ives  as  one 


172  Superstition. 

of  the  offices  of  the  priests.  In  our  own  day  those 
peculiar  diseases  which  have  defied  medical  skill, 
such  as  insanity,  hysteria,  and  epileps}-,  are  relegated 
in  rhany  countries  to  the  priesthood  for  cure. 

In  tracing  the  origin  of  superstitions  among  savage 
peoples,  we  will  gee  the  error  of  any  writer  who  has 
affirmed  that  this  or  that  people  has  no  religion  or  re- 
ligious feeling.  Many  such  writers  have  contradicted 
themselves,  unwittingly,  by  giving  a  list  of  the  super- 
stitions of  the  peoples  whom  they  say  are  without  a 
religion.  Perhaps  the}'  mean  to  sa}'  that  these  sav- 
age races  know  nothing  of  true  religion. 

The  American  Indian  tribes  furnish  fine  illustra- 
tions of  religious  superstitions.  With  them  the 
world  was  full  of  spirits,  which  they  imagined  they 
often  saw  sitting  upon  the  limbs  of  trees,  or  skipping 
about  in  the  moonlight.  They  had  a  great  fear  of  the 
spirits  of  the  dead.  Their  superstition  about  names 
originated  in  their  fear  of  the  spirits  of  the  departed. 
So,  when  any  one  died  every  one  who  had  the  name 
of  the  deceased  person  would  at  once  change  it,  for 
fear  this  spirit  would  hear  the  name  called  and  come 
and  try  to  take  possession  of  him.  They  believed 
that  two  spirits  often  inhabited  the  same  body,  and 
had  terrible  contests  for  possession  of  supremacy. 
Many  of  them  would  pull  down  or  burn  the  house  in 
which  any  one  died,  and  move  away  as  far  as  possi- 
ble. Sometimes  they  would  change  the  appearance 
of  the  house  so  the  spirit  would  not  recognize  it. 
They  sometimes  made  holes  in  the  coffin  for  the 
spirit  to  pass  out,  supposing,  perhaps,  it  had  not  left 
the  body. 

"  The  Algic  tribes  believe  that  sleep  is  produced 
by   fairies,  the    prince  of  whom    is  Weeng.     Weeng 


Superstition. 


/6 


scarce!}'  ever  operates  directl}',  but  he  exercises  his 
power  through  gnome-like  beings,  who  are  every- 
where present."  These  diminutive  beings  are  invisi- 
ble. Each  one  is  armed  with  a  tiny  club,  which  he 
always  carries.  When  he  observes  a  person  sitting 
or  reclining  in  a  position  favorable  to.  sleep,  he  nimbly 
climbs  upon  his  forehead  and  inflicts  a  blow  with  his 
club.  The  first  blow  only  creates  drowsiness,  the 
second  makes  him  close  his  eyes  or  nod,  and  the 
third  puts  him  to  sleep.  It  is  the  duty  of  these  little 
emissaries  to  put  every  one  to  sleep  they  possibly 
can — men,  women,  and  children.  They  hide  them- 
selves everywhere,  and  fly  out  and  begin  their  work 
whenever  a  favorable  opportunity  offers,  but  they, 
like  some  other  spirits,  love  darkness  rather  than 
light,  and  in  the  night  they  do  most  of  their  work. 

With  us  this  drowsy  deity  goes  to  church,  and  there 
finds  a  good  opportunity  to  do  his  work.  To  keep 
from  disturbing  public  worship,  he  creeps  upon  his 
victim  carefully  and  noiselessly,  and  strikes  his  blows 
so  quietly  that  sleep  is  produced  insensibly,  and  very 
often  the  one  who  sleeps  does  not  realize  the  pres- 
ence or  operations  of  the  little  worker,  and  denies 
that  he  was  asleep  at  all.  Weeng  is  not  only  the  pro- 
ducer of  sleep,  but  he  is  also  the  author  of  dullness. 
If  an  orator  fails,  he  is  said  to  have  been  struck  by 
Weeng,  or  if  a  warrior  lingers,  or  is  not  successful, 
he  has  been  influenced  by  the  sleepy  god.  If  chil- 
dren begin  to  nod  or  yawn,  the  Indian  mother  looks 
up  smilingly  and  says  they  have  been  struck  by 
Weeng,  and  puts  them  to  bed.  Sometimes  the  mother 
is  uneasy  for  fear  the  sleepy  god  will  strike  the  little 
infant  too  hard  a  blow,  and  either  cause  it  to  sleep 
too  much,  or  make  it  intellectually  dull.     Is  it  not  pos- 


174  Superstition. 

sible  that  Weeng  has  struck  a  great  many  white  men^ 
as  well  as  Indians,  too  hard  a  blow  ? 

The  fear  of  spirits  has  characterized  all  people  in 
every  age  of  the  world.  The  more  intelligent  the 
race  or  nation  the  less  superstitious  it  is,  and  conse- 
quently the  less  the  fear  of  spirits  and  the  supernat- 
ural. 

The  fear  of  being  left  in  the  dark  is  a  superstitious 
feeling  of  the  same  kind.  "  The  Western  Indians  sup- 
posed that  evil  spirits  loved  the  dark,  and  that  the 
good  and  great  spirits  love  the  light.  There/ore  they 
believe  that  when  the  moon  is  full  evil  spirits  begin 
nibbling  at  it  to  put  out  its  light,  eating  a  portion  of 
it  every  night  until  it  is  all  gone.  Then  a  great  spirit^ 
who  will  not  permit  the  evil  spirits  to  take  advantage 
of  the  darkness  and  go  about  the  earth,  doing  mis- 
chief like  burglars  and  assassins,  makes  a  hew  moon, 
working  on  it  every  night  until  it  is  finished,  when  he 
leaves  it  and  goes  to  sleep.  No  sooner  is  he  gone 
than  the.  bad  spirits  return  and  eat  it  up  again." 

The  American  Indians  are  particularly  superstitious 
in  reference  to  the  dead,  and  consequently  avoid  grave- 
yards and  places  where  their  people  have  died.  I 
would  believe  we  had  inherited  this  superstitious  fear 
from  them  if  I  did  not  know  that  our  English  fore- 
fathers were  as  superstitious  in  this  respect  as  the 
wild  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  West.  I  have  seen  refer- 
ence made  to  Addison's  statement  concerning  the 
grave-yard  superstitions  and  ghost  stories  of  old  En- 
gland. The  intimation  is  made  that  these  things  have 
all  disappeared ;  that  all  such  false  terrors  have  been 
dispelled  by  the  light  of  science  and  letters;  but  if  we 
go  into  the  inner  life  of  the  people  we  will  find  that 
these  superstitions  have  not  all  disappeared.     Their 


Superstition.  175 

corpses  are  still  here,  if  we  do  not  find  them  in  living 
existence. 

What  old  castle  in  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  or 
Ireland,  what  old  house  in  this  country,  has  not  its 
ghost?  What  terrible  tales  are  told  of  "haunted 
houses?"  We  read  of  them  or  hear  of  them  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  country.  A  few  3'ears  ago 
St.  Louis  and  Memphis  had  what  seemed  rival  houses 
of  this  kind,  to  which  crowds  gathered  for  a  few 
nights  to  hear  tlie  mysterious  sounds.  These  visitors 
became  so  frightened  that  after  a  few  evenings  the 
bravest  of  them  could  hardly  be  induced  to  go  near 
these  buildings.  Many  families  are  said  to  have 
moved  away  from  the  haunted  neighborhoods  on 
account  of  the  disturbances  made  by  these  ghosts  or 
demons.  We  generally  only  hear  of  these  supernat- 
ural visiters.  It  is  usually  some  body  else  who  saw 
them. 

Modern  spiritualism  is  nothing  more  than  supersti- 
tion or  legerdemain.  I  attended  a  seance  once  when 
I  was  a  boy  which  admirably  illustrates  the  true  char- 
acter of  spiritualism.  The  medium  was  a  school-mis- 
tress, and  the  public  was  invited  to  her  school-house 
out  in  the  country  one  night  to  see  her  performance. 
The  spirits  refused  to  respond  until  a  certain  skeptical 
young  man  would  leave  the  house ;  then  every  thing 
worked  charmingly.  INIany  spirits  of  departed  friends 
came,  and  some  of  them  made  wonderful  revelations. 
After  a  while  the  unbelieving  young  man  became  tired 
of  waiting  out-doors  alone,  so  he  crept  under  the 
floor  and  stopped  immediately  under  the  table  where 
the  spirits  were  rapping.  An  eccentric  old  woman 
had  died  a  short  time  before  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
she  was  called  for.     The  school-mistress  medium  very 


176  Superstition. 

gravely  and  with  a  solemn  tone  called  her  up.  She 
said:  "If  3-ou  are  present,  manifest  it  by  three  dis- 
tinct knocks."  All  waited  in  breathless  silence  to 
hear.  The  medium  waited  a  moment,  to  make  it  im- 
pressive, when  the  young  man  under  the  house  gave 
three  distinct  raps  upon  the  floor  with  his  knife.  All 
heard  it  distinctly.  The  school-teacher  looked  around 
and  began  to  turn  pale.  With  a  trembling  voice  she 
said:  "If  the  spirit  of  Aunt  Polly  is  certainly  here, 
will  she  please  give  four  distinct  raps."  After  a  mo- 
ment's silence  one,  two,  three,  four  raps  came,  and  then 
all  Vv-as  as  still  as  death.  The  school-teacher,  now  pale 
and  trembling,  turned  to  those  nearest  her,  and,  with 
a  voice  quivering,  said:  ''What  is  that?"  Some  one 
answered:  "It  is  the  spirit  of  old  Aunt  Polly,  I  sup- 
pose." She  answered:  "I  believe  it  is,  sure  enough, 
for  I  tell  you  I  didn't  do  it."  "Well,"  they  asked, 
"have  you  been  making  the  raps  heretofore?"  She 
said:  "Yes,  but  I  didn't  do  that."  After  a  good  deal 
of  persuasion  she  was  induced  to  ask  the  spirit  an- 
other question,  and  when  ihe  answer  came  with  the 
required  number  of  raps  she  hurriedly  left  the  room 
without  ceremony,  and  hastened  home  without  mak- 
ing another  appointment.  She  came  very  near  faint- 
ing and  falling  down  as  did  the  witch  of  Endor  when 
Samuel's  ghost  appeared,  lo  her  great  astonishment, 
when  she  called  him  for  Saul. 

Some  spiritualists  in  Nashville  a  few  3'ears  ago  in- 
sisted that  the  late  Dr.  A.  J.  Baird  should  attend  one 
of  their  seances  and  give  the  matter  a  fair  trial.  After 
much  persuading  he  agreed  to  go.  He  took  a  faith- 
ful and  reliable  friend  with  him  and  went.  It  was 
promised  that  a  tangible  or  materialized  spirit  would 
appear,   and  that  Dr.  Baird   should   at  least  hear  it 


Superstition.  177 

breathe  and  feel  its  breath.  When  they  got  the  com- 
pany arranged  in  a  circle  and  every  thing  ready  the 
lights  were  turned  off  and  every  thing  left  in  darkness 
and  silence.  Hands  were  joined  all  around  and  the 
spirit  made  its  appearance.  At  the  first  appearance 
Dr.  Baird  said:  "Yes,  it  passed  round  just  behind  me. 
I  heard  it  breathe  and  felt  the  warm  breath  upon  my 
cheek,  and  I  also  smelt  its  breath,  and  found  that  the 
spirit  had  been  drinking  whisky."  The  next  time 
when  it  came  around  and  he  heard  and  smelt  it,  he 
quickly  disengaged  his  hands,  and  suddenly  threw  up 
his  right  hand  and  caught  the  spirit  by  the  beard  and 
held  him'  until  the  lights  could  be  turned  on,  and  they 
found  the  supposed  supernatural  visitor  to  be  the 
■medium,  as  the  performer  was  called. 

The  world  is  full  of  error  in  regard  to  spirit  exist- 
ence and  spirit  life,  and  so  long  as  this  is  the  case 
superstition  will  exist.  We  all  believe  in  the  exist- 
ence of  spirits,  but  I  doubt  whether  any  one  of  us  has 
a  very  clearly  defined  idea  or  system  of  belief  upon 
the  subject. 

You  all  remember  the  history  of  the  prophet  Elisha 
and  the  young  man,  when  they  were  surrounded  at 
Dothan  by  the  vSyrian  army  which  had  come  to  capt- 
ure the  prophet.  When  .the  young  man  saw  the 
hosts  of  the  enemy  encompassing  them  he  was 
alarmed  and  cried  out:  "Alas!  master,  how  shall  we 
do?"  But  Elisha  said:  "Fear  not,  for  they  that  be 
with  us  are  more  than  they  that  be  with  them."  The 
young  man  could  not  understand  that,  until  the 
prophet  prayed  the  Lord  to  open  his  eyes  that  he 
might  see  the  invisible  army  with  which  God  had  en- 
compassed the  mountains.  When  his  eyes  were 
opened  he  saw  that  the  "mountain  was  full  of  horses 
12 


178  Supe;rstition. 

and  chariots  of  fire,  round  about  Elisha."  This  invis- 
ible army  was  made  visible  to  the  young  man  that  he 
might  know  the  power  God  had  for  the  protection  of 
his  servant.  If  our  eyes  were  opened  to  see  all  that 
is  passing  around  us,  as  this  young  man's  were  on  that 
occasion,  is  it  not  possible  that  we  would  behold 
things  as  wonderful  as  he  saw? 

It  is  this  universal  belief  in  spiritual  existence, 
joined  to  such  meager  and  limited  knowledge  on  the 
subject,  that  causes  so  much  superstition.  Man's  dual 
nature — spiritual  and  material — makes  him  believe  in 
spirit  existence,  and  therefore  makes  him  a  religious 
animal.  The  higher  and  purer  his  religion  or  relig- 
ious belief,  the  less  superstitious  he  becomes ;  but  the 
more  ignorant  he  is  the  nearer  his  religion  approx- 
imates to  mere  superstition. 

We  find  an  illustration  of  this  proposition  here  in 
our  own  country  and  among  our  own  people.  The 
more  ignorant  the  community,  family,  Or  individual 
the  greater  is  the  superstition.  But  in  some  things 
most  people  are  superstitious.  Who  has  not  at  some 
time  consulted  the  faith  doctor,  and  witnessed  how 
gravely  and  carefully  this  wonderful  magic  practi- 
tioner will  pass  his  hands  over  the  diseased  part  a  cer- 
tain number  of  times,  mentally  repeating  some  for- 
mula. Perhaps  he  will  rub  the  affected  part  with  a 
stick  and  tell  you  to  go  and  bury  the  stick  in  some 
secret  spot,  and  as  you  come  away  from  the  place  of 
deposit  not  to  look  back,  and,  above  all,  not  to  tell 
any  one  where  you  buried  it.  You  are  told  that  if  you 
will  follow  these  directions  carefully  in  a  given  time 
the  warts,  or  sty,  or  whatever  it  is  that  troubles  you, 
will  disappear.  Have  you  not  tried  it?  And  has  it 
not  always  effected  a  cure? 


Superstition.  179 

Have  5'0ii  not  seen  sick  horses  cured  by  faith  ? 
How  solemnly  the  doctor  walks  around  the  animal  a 
given  number  of  times,  stroking  him  in  a  particular 
manner,  and  a  cure  is  effected  at  once. 

What  neighborhood  has  not  one  or  more  water- 
witches,  as  they  are  called  ?  With  mien  as  solemn 
and  important  as  a  judge  sitting  on  a  case  of  life  and 
death,  he  walks  around  with  a  sv.-itch  in  hand,  and 
when  he  passes  a  stream  deep  underground  the 
switch  will  bow,  nod,  or  twist,  according  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  stream.  Who  would  be  so  foolish  as  to 
attempt  to  dig  a  well  without  first  consulting  .the 
water-witch  ?  But  you  say  this  is  not  superstition,  it 
is  science.  Well,  perhaps  it  is,  and  so  I  suppose 
planting  potatoes,  and  many  other  things,  in  the 
dark  of  the  moon,  or  when  the  moon  is  full,  is  science 
also.  But  who  wishes  to  start  on  a  journey,  or  begin 
a  new  enterprise,  on  Friday?  If  you  see  a  rabbit  or 
squirrel  run  across  the  road  in  front  of  you,  going  to 
the  left-hand  side,  will  you  not  make  a  cross  in  the 
road  and  spit  on  it,  or  turn  round  and  go  back?  If 
the  little  animal  ran  to  the  right-hand  side,  you  are 
safe  in  going  on,  as  you  will  be  sure  to  have  good 
luck.  In  almost  every  family  there  are  signs  for  good 
luck  and  bad  luck,  and  while  all  declare  there  is  noth- 
ing in  these  signs,  all  are  more  or  less  governed  by 
them.  If  a  chicken  crows  near  the  front  door,  a 
stranger  will  come  before  night ;  if  yoxi  sneeze  at  the 
table  during  a  meal,  somebody  is  coming.  There  are 
rnany  such  signs,  the  occurrence  of  some  of  them 
indicating  the  coming  of  a  visitor,  or  the  marriage  or 
death  of  some  one  in  the  family  or  neighborhood. 
So  there  are  signs  of  various  kinds  for  good  or 
ill-luck.     Sailors  are  not  the  only  people  who  believe 


i8o  Superstition. 

the  horse-shoe  is  a  protection  and  an  assurance  of 
good  luck.  Has  any  lady  in  this  audience  ever 
consulted  a  fortune-teller,  or  looked  into  a  well 
or  coffee  cup  to  see  her  future  husband?  Perhaps 
there  is  more  than  one  present  who  have  by  some 
such  method  essayed  to  read  the  future. 

The  African  is  peculiarly  superstitious,  whether 
you  find  him  in  his  native  lands  or  in  other  countries. 
It  seems  to  be  a  part  of  his  nature  and  of  his  religion, 
and  no  amount  of  education  entirely  eradicates  it. 
It  is  said  that  climate  has  much  to  do  in  making  a 
people  more  or  less  superstitious,  and  that  in  tropical 
countries  more  superstition  is  found  than  anywhere 
else.  This  may  be  true  in  the  East,  but  I  doubt  if  it 
is  a  rule  that  will  always  hold  good.  What  tribe  of 
men  is  more  superstitious  than  the  Esquimaux? 
With  the  negroes  here  in  our  ow^n  country  supersti- 
tion has  much  to  do  in  controlling  them,  not  only  in 
their  religion  but  in  nearly  every  thing  they  do. 
As  a  rule,  they  believe  in  ghosts,  witches,  and  hob- 
goblins. They  often  imagine  they  are  bewitched,  and 
when  one  concludes  he  is  under  such  a  spell  it  af- 
fects him  as  seriously  as  if  it  were  true.  Many  a  poor, 
deluded  negro  has  suffered  for  months  under  the 
spell  of  an  imaginary  witch,  and  pined  away  and 
died.  If  one  of  their  number  is  supposed  to  be  a 
witch,  all  fear  and  avoid  that  one  as  they  would  Satan 
himself  Many  of  them  carry  charms  of  some  kind 
about  their  persons,  to  keep  off  the  witch,  or  avoid  the 
spell. 

But  how  many  intelligent  white  people  do  the  same 
thing  ?  A  man  will  tell  3'ou  that  he  carries  a  charm 
for  good  luck.  Well,  that  is  the  object  the  ignorant 
negro  is  seeking  in  the  same  way.     He  wants  to  keep 


Superstition.  i8i 

off  disease  and  secure  health — to  bring  to  himself  good 
luck.  There  may  be  those  here  to-night  who  have 
some  charm  or  talisman  in  their  pockets  or  about 
their  persons. 

The  negroes  mix  their  superstition  into  their  re- 
ligion, until  with  some  of  them  it  constitutes  the  ma- 
jor part.  This  is  forcibly  illustrated  by  the  story  of 
an  old  negro's  prayer.  He  was  in  his  cabin  alone  late 
at  night.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  praying  very  loud 
just  before  going  to  bed.  In  these  prayers  he  often 
told  the  Lord  how  he  had  to  suffer,  and  how  badly  he 
was  treated  by  his  master.  In  pouring  out  his  griev- 
ances he  would  beg  to  be  taken  away  at  once  from 
earth,  declaring  tliat  he  would  like  to  go  immediately 
up  to  heaven.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  when  he 
had  waxed  warm  in  his  complaints,  and  had  come  to 
his  usual  petition :  "  O  Lord,  come  take  dis  pore  ole 
nigger  up  to  heben  right  now;  he's  tired  libbin  in 
dis  worle  ob  sin  an'  'pression.  He  wants  to  go  right 
now  up  to  heben  whar  he  can  get  some  res'  an' 
some  'en  fit  to  eat.  O  Lord,  do  please  come  an'  take 
dis  ole  Ned  right  dis  minnit."  Some  young  men  had 
been  listening,  just  outside  of  the  cabin,  to  Uncle 
Ned's  prayer.  As  he  made  this  petition  they  knocked 
violently  upon  the  door.  The  old  man  stopped  his 
prayer  suddenly,  and  said  :  "  Who  dat  knockin'  at  dat 
doo'  ?  "  The  answer  came  very  solemnly,  and  from  a 
deep,  guttural  voice:  "It  is  the  Lord."  "What  de 
Lord  want?"  said  Uncle  Ned.  "He  has  heard  the 
prayer  of  old  Uncle  Ned,  and  has  come  to  take  him 
away  from  this  sinful  world."  Uncle  Ned  blew  out 
his  candle  as  quickly  as  he  could,  and  .said :  "  Ole  Ned 
not  heah ;  he  's  done  gone  off  to  .see  some  de  folks ; 
he's  not  heah.     He's  jokin'  'bout  wanliu'  de  Lord  to 


i82  Superstition. 

take  him  'way  anyhow ;  he  done  tola  me  to  tell  you 
so.  No,  he  doan  wan'  ter  go  ;  he  'd  heap  ruther  stay 
heah."  Is  Ned  the  only  one  who  ever  prayed  such  a 
hypocritical  prayer,  or  sung  a  song  amounting  to  the 
same  thing. 

The  three  or  four  centuries  immediately  before 
Christ  saw  the  greatest  confusion  in  religion  that  the 
world  has  ever  produced.  It  was  a  struggle  between 
the  philosophers  and  the  priests.  The  old  religions 
had  lost  their  hold  upon  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
better  classes  in  every  country.  The  wide  dissemina- 
tion of  Greek  learning  had  changed  the  current  of 
thought  everywhere.  The  schools  of  the  philosophers 
became  popular  and  were  crowded  by  the  youth  of 
every  land.  The  effort  of  these  masters  was  to  bring 
order  out  of  the  confusion  into  which  the  mind  of 
man  had  drifted.  This  was  a  hard  task.  The  dark- 
ness which  had  settled  over  the  world  was  so  great 
that  scarcely  a  ray  of  light  penetrated  it. 

The  only  source  of  light  that  might  have  illumi- 
nated the  benighted  races  of  men  was  itself  eclipsed 
and  obscured,  despised  by  the  other  nations  of  the 
earth.  The  Jew  had  become  the  blind  leader  of  the 
blind,  and  all  had  fallen  into  the  ditch  together.  In 
this  condition  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  thought  of 
the  world  was  turned  to  Greek  philosophy.  Greece 
allowed  other  people  to  control  the  commerce  of  the 
world,  but  gave  herself  to  the  cultivation  of  the  mind. 
Her  achievements  in  intellectual  development  and 
culture  surpassed  even  those  of  the  Phoenicians  in 
commerce.  They  are  to-day  the  w^onder  of  the  world. 
Socrates  gathered  around  him  the  best  intellect  of  that 
wonderful  age,  and  if  he  did  no  more  he  unfolded  to 
those  ambitious  youths  the  fields  for  intellectual  feats 


Superstition.  183 

and  the  possibilities  of  mind  in  its  sway  over  matter. 
Lifting  the  curtain  and  giving  a  view  of  the  mind  and 
what  it  might  do,  he  set  the  brain  on  fire  to  secure  its 
accomplishment. 

Plato  surpassed  his  master  and  all  others  in  bring- 
ing order  out  of  confusion  and  giving  to  the  world  a 
system  of  belief.  But  he  fastened  upon  the  world 
errors  that  will  last,  perhaps,  as  long  as  time  itself. 
Upon  the  old  doctrine  of  the  dual  nature  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  of  the  eternity  of  mind  and  matter,  he 
built  his  system.  It  was  not  a  new  doctrine,  but  old 
beliefs  molded  into  shape.  It  taught  that  there  is  a 
struggle  between  the  visible  and  the  invisible,  and 
that  the  only  hope  of  success  and  happiness  is  in  the 
mastery  of  spirit  over  matter.  This  imaginary  war 
between  the  two  created  a  real  war,  and  it  resulted 
only  in  error  and  superstition  in  regard  to  the  nature 
of  spirit  and  the  relation  between  it  and  matter. 

Platonism,  as  all  the  different  forms  of  belief  were 
called  that  emphasized  the  powers  of  mind  over  mat- 
ter, became  the  popular,  and,  in  some  way,  the  almost 
universal  belief  of  the  people.  It  entered  into  the 
teaching  in  science,  in  religion,  in  politics,  and  into 
the  very  life  of  the  people.  Platonism  has  perhaps 
been  the  parent  of  more  error  in  religious  beliefs  and 
in  religious  life  than  ail  other  systems  combined.  It 
had  greater  influence  upon  the  thought  and  life  of  the 
people  in  the  early  part  of  the  Christian  era  than  any 
other  system,  and  it  was  its  introduction  into  Chris- 
tianity under  its  various  forms  that  did  more  than  any 
thing  else  to  corrupt  the  faith  and  the  life  of  the 
church.  Platonism  did  much  in  shaping  the  thought 
of  the  church,  leading  to  all  kinds  of  wild  notions 
and  mvstical  theories.    It  was  Platonic  beliefs  that  led 


184  Superstition. 

the  church  into  anarchy  and  superstition  until  it  was 
enveloped  in  a  cloud  so  thick  and  dark  that  there 
seemed  no  hope.  Then  the  Reformation  broke  the 
cloud  and  let  the  light  in. 

This  heathen  philosophy  has  produced  more  error 
and  superstition  in  the  church  and  in  Christian  lands 
than  any  other  system  of  thought.  Like  a  corrupt 
fountain,  it  has  poisoned  every  thing  with  which  it 
has  come  in  contact.  Teaching  the  doctrine  that  mat- 
ter is  inherently  corrupt,  and  that  the  only  way  to  sub- 
due the  passions  of  the  body  is  to  weaken  and  abuse 
the  body  and  thereby  give  strength  and  power  to  the 
spirit,  it  led  to  sins  and  follies  unnumbered,  and  to 
superstitions  which  yet  control  the  opinions  and  lives 
of  multitudes  in  the  church  even  in  our  own  country. 
M3'stic  theology  and  philosophy  have  not  lost  their 
influence,  and  perhaps  never  will  until  we  all  see 
through  other  eyes  than  those  of  the  body,  and  under- 
stand what  is  meant  by  spirit,  spirit  life,  and  spirit  in- 
fluence. 


^ 


^.BLBmm.DM 


ODR  ENGLISH  ANCESTORS. 


By  E.  E.  weir,  A.m., 

Professor  of  Belles-Lettres  and  Mental  and  Moral  Sciences. 

The  three  great  historic  divisions  of  men  are :  The 
Semites,  or  Shemites,  the  Hamites,  and  the  Aryans, 
or  Japhethites.  To  the  Aryans  belong  the  Europe- 
ans and  their  descendants.  Let  us  briefly  trace  the 
origin  of  these,  beginning  at  a  distant  period  when 
they  tilled  their  lands  and  fed  their  flocks  in  their 
primitive  home,  located  somewhere,  no  man  can  say 
just  where. 

Many  reasons  have  inclined  the  majority  of  recent 
writers  to  accept  the  Baltic  or  Scandinavian  region  as 
the  primeval  Aryan  home.  Perhaps  the  least  objec- 
tionable theory,  in  the  light  of  recent  investigations, 
would  locate  the  cradle  of  this  race  in  southern  Ru.s- 
sia  around  the  Caspian  Sea. 

From  this  old  home  two  branches  of  this  race  proceed- 
ed, one  toward  the  Indian  peninsula,  where  was  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  peculiar  civilization,  language,  and 
literature  of  the  Hindoos;  the  other  toward  the  north 
and  west,  and  from  the  latter  came  the  various  nations 
that  peopled  Europe.  For  our  present  purpose  we 
have  need  to  notice  only  this  second  branch.  It  is 
generally  agreed  that  the  nations  spread  over  Europe 
in  successive  waves.  With  respect  to  the  chronolog- 
ical order  of  these  waves;  however,  there  is  less  of 
agreement.     The  opinion  which  seems  most  prevalent 

(185) 


i86  Our  English  Ancestors. 

is  that  first  came  the  restless  Celts  in  quest  of  new 
fortunes.  Just  here  the  question  may  be  asked,  Was 
the  country  inhabited  before  the  coming  of  the  Celts? 
To  this  I  shall  attempt  no  certain  answer.  Momsen,  in 
his  History  of  Rome,  states  that  the  results  of  German 
antiquarian  research  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  in 
England,  France,  the  north  of  Germany,  and  Scandi- 
navia, before  the  settlement  of  the  Indo-Europeans  in 
those  lands,  there  must  have  dwelt,  or  rather  roamed, 
a  people  perhaps  of  Mongolian  race,  gaining  their  sub- 
sistence by  hunting  and  fishing,  making  their  imple- 
ments of  stone,  clay,  or  bones,  adorning  themselves 
with  the  teeth  of  animals  and  with  amber,  but  unac- 
quainted with  agriculture  and  the  use  of  metals.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  the  conclusion  is  warranted  that  the 
Celts  were  driven  westward  by  a  succeeding  wave. 

The  Greeks  and  Romans  followed  the  Celts,  driving 
them  from  the  wide  territory  which  they  occupied  to 
remote  districts.  These  two  races  took  possession  of 
the  southern  portions  of  Europe,  and  were  an  impor- 
tant element  in  the  formation  of  the  nations  which 
now  occupy  Greece,  Italy,  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal. 
Next  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans  came  that  aggressive 
people  from  whom  are  descended  the  Servians,  the 
Bulgarians,  the  Bohemians,  and  the  Russians. 

Last,  but  to  us  most  important,  came  the  Teutons. 
The  principal  branches  of  these  are:  The  Scandina- 
vians, embracing  the  Swedes,  the  Danes,  the  Norwe- 
gians, and  the  Icelanders ;  the  High  Germans  in  south 
German}^;  and  the  Eow  Germans  in  the  lowlands  of 
north  Germany.  To  the  Low  Germans  belong  the 
Angles,  the  Saxons,  and  the  Jutes.  These  are  the 
tribes  of  our  English  ancestors.  They  occupied  the 
low-lying   country   immediately  north   of  the    Elbe. 


Our  English  Ancestors.  187 

Angleland,  Saxland,  and  Juteland  were  the  countries 
now  known  as  Friesland,  Holstein,  and  Jutland. 

On  the  wild  waste  of  heather,  and  amid  the  sand- 
flats  and  marshes  of  their  sea-girt  home,  let  us  leave 
these  our  ancient  ancestors  and  turn  our  attention  for 
a  time  to  Great  Britain.  From  this  the  latest  home 
of  our  ancestors  came  our  language  and  many  of  our 
institutions.  It  will  be  interesting  if  not  profitable  to 
notice  some  of  the  legendary  stories  respecting  this 
island.  We  are  told  that  the  Britons  are  sprung  from 
Trojan  ancestry — that  they  took  their  name  from 
Brutus,  who,  an  exile  and  troubled  wanderer,  was 
directed  by  the  oracle  of  Diana  to  come  to  Albion. 
This  island,  not  yet  called  Britain,  was  ruled  over  by 
a  giant,  the  son  of  Neptune,  who  called  it  Albion 
from  his  own  name.  It  is  said  that  Brutus,  standing 
before  the  altar  of  Diana  with  a  vessel  of  wine  and  the 
blood  of  a  white  hart,  repeated  nine  times: 

"Goddess  of  -vvoods,  tremendous  in  the  chase 
To  mountain  boars  and  all  the  savage  race, 
Wide  o'er  the  ethereal  walks  extend  thy  sway, 
And  o'er  the  infernal  regions  void  of  day; 
Look  upon  us  on  earth,  unfold  our  fate, 
And  say  what  region  is  our  destined  seat. 
Where  shall  we  next  thy  lasting  temple  raise, 
And  choirs  of  angels  celebrate  thy  praise?" 

He  was  answered  in  a  vision  of  the  night : 

"  Brutus,  there  lies  beyond  the  Gallic  bounds 
An  island  which  the  western  sea  surrounds ; 
By  giants  once  possessed,  now  few  remain 
To  bar  thy  entrance  or  obstruct  thy  reign  ; 
To  reach  that  happy  shore  thy  sails  employ — 
There  fate  decrees  to  raise  a  second  Troy, 
And  found  an  empire  in  thy  royal  line 
Which  time  shall  ne'er  destroy  nor  bounds  coufiue." 


i88  Our  English  Ancestors. 

Early  historians  tell  us  that  one  British  king  flour- 
ished in  the  time  of  Saul;  that  another  lived  con- 
temporary with  Solomon.  King  Lear  had  grown  old 
in  government  when  Romulus  and  Remus  were 
suckled. 

Leaving  to  historical  science  the  task  of  bringing 
to  light  whatever  of  truth  may  be  contained  in  these 
stories  of  the  prehistoric  Britons,  let  us  pass  to  a 
period  of  more  authentic  hi.story,  beginning  about 
fifty-five  years  before  Christ,  when  Julius  Caesar  led 
his  brass-mailed  legions  into  Britain  from  Gaul.  An- 
cient authority  gives  to  the  Britons  a  Celtic  origin. 
They  perhaps  had  migrated  to  this  western  land  be- 
fore the  Teutons  left  the  common  parent  home  in  the 
East.  Although  Caesar  conquered  the  Britons,  it  was 
not  until  about  the  year  85  A.D.  that  the  central  and 
southern  portions  of  the  island  were  reduced  to  a 
Roman  province.  This  province  remained  under 
Roman  rule  nearly  four  hundred  years. 

When  the  Roman  empire  began  falling  in  pieces 
the  legions  which  had  protected  the  Britons  from  the 
incursions  of  the  Picts,  the  Silures,  and  the  Scots  were 
withdrawn  for  the  defense  of  Italy.  In  this  helpless 
condition  the  Britons  applied  to  the  Germanic  tribes 
for  aid.  Then  sad  relief  came  from  the  bleak  coast 
of  the  German  ocean.  The  strong,  yellow-haired  and 
blue-eyed  Saxon  came  and  drove  back  the  enemies  of 
the  Britons;  but,  falling  in  love  with  the  beautiful 
country,  they  determined  to  become  its  possessors  by 
conquering  the  inhabitants.  So  the  weak  Celts,  under 
their  semi-fabulous  hero,  were  driven,  like  the  In- 
dians of  North  America,  to  the  remotest  corners  of  a 
kingdom  which  they  had  occupied  with  undisputed 
sway.     If  to-day  you  would  see  the  once  warlike  race 


Our  English  Ancestors.  189 

of  King  Arthur,  go  to  the  wildest  parts  of  Ireland  and 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  to  Wales  and  Cornwall, 
Brittany  and  the  Isle  of  Man.  The  Anglo-Saxons  have 
taken  possession  of  a  land  which  they  still  hold.  The 
Danes  overran  the  country  in  the  ninth  century.  In 
the  year  1017  they  succeeded  in  taking  the  throne. 
After  a  brief  dynasty  of  three  Danish  kings,  the 
Anglo-Saxons  regained  the  government. 

In  the  year  1066  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  led 
his  soldiers  into  England,  and  at  the  noted  battle  of 
Hastings  completed  the  subjugation  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons.  These  disturbances  by  the  Danes  and  Nor- 
mans produced  no  radical  change  in  the  race,  lan- 
guage, or  institutions  of  England. 

It  will  be  interesting  here  to  speak  of  the  spirit 
and  genius  of  the  people  whose  origin  we  have  thus 
traced.  I  should  like  to  follow  this  great  people  from 
the  cradle  of  their  infancy  and  speak,  not  of  the 
tramp  of  armies,  nor  scenes  of  bloodshed  and  slaugh- 
ter, which  only  disgust,  but  of  the  more  interesting 
and  instructive  events  which  would  give  us  a  view  of 
their  manners  and  customs,  their  language  and  litera- 
ture, their  beliefs  and  home  life. 

History  fails  to  give  any  facts  respecting  the  primi- 
tive life  of  the  Aryans.  The  sciences  of  philology 
and  ethnology  afford  some  relief  to  this  great  want. 
According  to  these  the  Aryans  had  not  only  the  near 
and  dear  relations  of  father,  mother,  son,  and  daugh- 
ter, but  even  the  more  conventional  affinities  of 
sister-in-law,  father-in-law,  and  mother-in-law.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  family  they  had  a  state  organization. 
They  also  possessed  abundant  ilocks  and  herds,  which 
were  pastured  upon  their  grassy  commons.  The 
cow  was  their  most  valued  domestic  animal.     They 


igo  Our  English  Ancestors. 

had  the  pig,  the  sheep,  the  goat,  and  the  horse.  It  is 
probable  that  the  horse  was  not  ridden.  The  dog 
seems  to  have  been  known  only  in  its  wild  state. 
Their  chief  ordinary  drink  was  the  milk  of  the  cow, 
sheep,  and  goat.  The  daughters  of  the  primeval 
home  were  the  milkmaids.  Dawn  was  the  mustering 
time  of  the  cows,  and  evening  was  the  time  of  bring- 
ing home  the  herds.  The  earth  was  broken  with  a 
rude  plow  drawn  by  the  ox,  or  possibly  the  horse. 
They  cut  their  hay  and  grain  with  the  sickle.  At  least 
two  kinds  of  grains  were  cultivated;  just  what  grains 
is  not  known.  Wheeled  vehicles  brought  the  harvest 
from  the  field.  Pottery  was  in  common  use.  Vessels 
of  wood  and  leather  were  also  probably  employed. 
Music  on  stringed  instruments  softened  their  hours 
of  rest  and  leisure.  Quails  and  ducks  were  eaten  and 
salt  was  used.  They  had  our  trio  of  domestic  pests — 
the  fly,  the  flea,  and  the  mouse.  Hunting  was  re- 
garded a  noble  pursuit,  and  they  delighted  in  the 
combat  with  the  savage  bear  and  wolf. 

The  ax  appears  to  have  been  the  chief  weapon  of 
warfare,  but  they  fought  also  with  the  club  and  the 
sword.  They  wore  the  helmet  and  buckler  for  de- 
fensive armor.  They  counted  by  fives  and  tens,  with 
their  fingers  and  toes  as  guides.  The  year  was  di- 
vided into  lunar  months,  the  moon  being  their  meas- 
urer of  time. 

Much  that  has  been  drawn  from  philology  concern- 
ing the  primitive  liv^s  of  the  Aryans  is  open  to  doubt. 
That  the  whole  story  is  much  richer  than  can  be 
learned  from  our  scanty  stock  of  words  is  highly  prob- 
able. Fancy  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  often, 
when  night  had  come  on,  the  good  man  spoke  of  his 
growing  crops,  while  the  good  wife's  shuttle  went 


Our  English  Ancestors.  191 

merrily  flashing  through  the  loom.  In  this  familiar 
circle  was  the  uncle,  rich  in-  lore  of  fields  and  brooks, 
and  the  dear  old  aunt,  delighting  in  her  girlhood 
memories.  The  young  members  of  the  family  were 
near,  and,  gathered  in  a  circle,  they  all  sped  the  night 
away  with  stories  old. 

We  may  suppose  that  on  the  banks  of  their  native 
rivers,  when  breezes  were  soft  and  skies  were  fair, 
they  stole  an  hour  from  their  busy  cares.  There,  too, 
was  the  honest  country  lad,  with  toil-rounded  shoul- 
ders, and  the  innocent  lassie,  his  companion  in  the 
harvest  field.  In  the  evening  when  the  toilers  return 
from  their  work  he  loiters  behind  with  her,  and  Vv-ith 
a  joy  he  can  not  explain  he  sits  by  her  side  and  picks 
from  her  little  hands  the  cruel  nettle  stings  and 
thistles.  But  fancy  must  be  checked.  I  shall  not 
speak  further  of  our  ancestors  while  on  the  continent. 
If  history  had  recorded  all  that  w'e  could  desire,  still 
space  would  forbid  our  entering  so  delightful  a  field. 

Let  us  notice  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Celts, 
Romans,  Anglo-Saxons,  and  other  races  which  enter 
into  the  composition  of  the  English  people.  With 
good  reason  we  may  conclude  that  the  civilization  of 
these  races  on  the  Island  of  Great  Britain  was  in  the 
main  that  which  belonged  to  them  on  the  Continent. 
The  blue-eyed  Briton  inhabited  a  mist-enveloped  land. 
His  house  was  a  circular  hut  of  timber  and  reeds,  sur- 
rounded by  a  conical  roof,  which  served  at  once  to 
admit  daylight  and  to  allow  smoke  to  escape  through 
a  hole  in  the  top.  Into  these  huts  the  horseman 
rode,  conversed  with  the  inmates,  then  made  his  exit 
without  having  alighted.  At  meals  they  sat  in  circle, 
each  with  his  block  of  wood  and  piece  of  meat. 
Around  the  central  fire  the  whole  family  lay  down  to 


192  Our  English  Ancestors. 

savage  dreams,  while  the  wolf's  long  howl  broke  the 
silence  of  forest  depth,  or  wild  fowls  screamed  across 
the  wilderness  of  shallow  waters.  Their  property 
consisted  of  arms  and  cattle.  Their  weapons  were 
bronze  swords,  spears,  axes,  and  chariots  with  pro- 
jecting scythes.  Each  tribe  had  a  chief.  The  sum- 
mons to  war  was  made  with  the  crantara — a  stick 
burnt  at  the  end  and  dipped  in  blood,  carried  by  a 
dumb  messenger  from  hamlet  to  hamlet. 

There  is  an  old  Celtic  story  which  says  that  they 
mixed  the  brains  of  their  slain  enemies  with  lime  and 
played  with  the  hard  balls  they  made  of  them.  Such 
a  brain-stone  is  said  to  have  passed  through  the  skull 
of  an  Irish  chief,  who  lived  afterward  seven  years 
with  two  brains  in  his  head,  always  sitting  very  still 
lest  in  shaking  himself  he  should  die.  In  the  mounds 
of  these  old  Britons  are  found  vases  containing  their 
bones  and. ashes,  together  with  swords  and  hatchets, 
arrow-heads  of  flint  and  bronze,  and  beads  of  glass 
and  amber.  They  believed  that  things  useful  and 
pleasing  here  would  be  needful  in  the  shadowy  realms. 

The  Druids,  with  consecrated  beads  and  linen 
tiaras,  were  the  priests  of  their  religion.  The'  au- 
thority of  the  Druids  was  great.  Controversies 
among  states,  as  well  as  individuals,  were  decided  by 
them.  The  sentence  of  excommunication  was  pro- 
nounced against  persons  refvising  submission  to  their 
decrees.  Even  death  afforded  a  relief  to  the  severe 
penalties  inflicted  upon  those  thus  doomed.  The 
Druids  would  not  worship  their  gods  under  roof.  At 
noon  and  night,  within  a  circular  area  marked  by  enor- 
mous stones  and  of  vast  circumference,  they  made 
their  appeals  with  sacrifices,  the  victims  being  cap- 
tives and  criminals,  or  the  innocent  and  fair. 


Our  English  Ancestors.  193 

Besides  religious  topics,  the  Druids  also  discussed 
many  things  concerning  the  stars  and  their  revolu- 
tions, the  magnitude  of  the  globe  and  its  various  di- 
mensions, the  nature  of  the  universe,  the  energy  and 
power  of  the  immortal  gods.  It  was  the  aim  of  the 
Druids  to  keep  their  dbctrines  enveloped  in  the  deep- 
est mystery;  consequently  they  strictly  forbade  the 
committing  of  them  to  writing,  lest  at  any  time  they 
should  be  read  by  the  uninitiated. 

The  Romans  made  many  improvements  in  the 
civilization  of  the  Britons.  The  rude  hut  was 
changed  into  a  more  stately  and  commodious  house. 
Better  forms  of  government  and  worship  were  estab- 
lished. Agriculture  and  commerce  were  greatly  im- 
proved. Traces  of  Roman  thought  have  been  trans- 
mitted through  the  Britons  to  us.  They  may  be  seen 
in  the  names  of  our  months,  in  our  marriage  ceremo- 
nies, and  funeral  customs.  The  Romans  had  the  veil, 
the  ring,  and  the  wedding  gifts,  the  groomsmen,  the 
brides-maids,  and  the  bride-cake.  With  them  cypress 
was  an  emblem  of  death.  They  strewed  flowers  upon 
the  graves  of  their  friends,  and  wore  black  for  mourn- 
ing. "The  girl  who,  when  her  ears  tingle  says,  a  dis- 
tant one  is  talking  of  her  recalls  the  Roman  belief  in 
some  influence  of  a  mesmeric  nature  which  produces 
this  effect.  Many  a  Roman  has  been  intensely  ex- 
cited by  the  screech-owl  at  midnight.  The  tender- 
ness and  sweet  melancholy  of  the  Britons  are  exhib- 
ited in  the  words  of  their  bards,  setting  forth  the  feel- 
ings of  the  father  who  has  seen  his  son  fall  in  battle. 

The  Danes  were  a  sea-faring  people.     We  are  told, 

in  story,  of  their  sea-kings  who  had  never  slept  under 

the  smoky  rafter  of  a  roof,  who  had  never  drained  the 

ale-horn  by  an  inhabited  hearth.    The  waves  were  their 

13 


194  Our  English  Ancestors. 

territory,  the  two-sailed  ships  their  dwelling.  They 
laughed  at  the  storm,  and  sang,  "The  blast  of  the 
tempest  aids  our  oars ;  the  bellowing  of  the  heavens, 
the  howling  of  the  thunder  hurts  us  not ;  the  hurri- 
cane is  our  servant,  and  drives  us  whither  we  wist 
to  go."  The  Danish  code  of  honor  was  that  a  brave 
man  should  attack  two,  stand  firm  against  three,  give 
ground  a  little  to  four,  and  only  retreat  from  five. 
They  fondly  looked  to  an  immortality  in  Valhalla, 
where  they  expected  continually  to  drink  ale  from 
large  hollowed  skulls,  and  forever  to  hew  each  other 
in  bloodless  conflict. 

Among  the  Anglo-Saxons  the  orders  of  societ}-  were 
two — the  bond  and  the  free.  Serfs  or  slaves  were 
either  the  captives  of  war  or  those  who  had  outraged 
law.  Freemen  were  divided  into  two  classes — earls 
and  churls.  The  Anglo-Saxons  have  always  been  a 
nation  of  farmers.  To  be  without  land  was  to  have 
no  hope  for  distinction.  Ten  men  grouped  by  kinship 
formed  a  tithing,  also  known  as  "ten  men's  tale." 
Ten  tithings  constituted  a  hundred,  and  several  hun- 
dred a  shire. 

Every  crime  was  held  to  have  been  committed  by 
all  who  were  related  to  the  doer  of  it,  and  against  all 
who  were  related  to  the  sufferer.  A  number  of  his 
kinsfolk  are  the  sole  judges  of  the  accused.  By  their 
oath  of  his  innocence  or  guilt  he  stands  or  falls.  In 
this  we  have  the  germ  of  the  jury  system. 

The  duel  and  ordeal  were  other  modes  of  appeal. 
They  believed  that  fire  and  water  were  deities.  The 
gods  are  just;  therefore,  plunge  the  accused  into 
water,  and  if  innocent  he  will  escape;  or  drive  him 
over  red-hot  plowshares,  and  if  guilty  his  burns  will 
furnish  an  infallible  sig^n  of  it. 


Our  English  Ancestors.  195 

The  Anglo-Saxons  lived  in  villages — knots  of  farms 
— surrounded  by  a  common  ground,  across  which 
none  must  go  except  he  blow  his  horn,  else,  being 
considered  a  foe,  he  may  be  lawfully  slain.  Their 
court-houses  and  legislative  halls  were  moot  hills 
or  sacred  trees.  Here  the  farm  was  transferred  to 
the  purchaser  by  the  delivery  of  a  turf  cut  from  its 
soil.  Justice  was  administered  in  accordance  with  the 
unwritten  code,  "Eye  for  eye,  life  for  life,  or  for  each 
fair  damages."  Capital  punishment  was  inflicted  for 
treason,  desertion,  and  poison.  Sentence  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  priest.  The  king  and  the  witan,  or 
wise  man,  who  limited  the  jurisdiction  of  the  king, 
convened  under  some  tree  to  settle  questions  of  peace 
and  war,  or  transact  other  important  business.  The 
parliament  of  a  great  nation  has  its  origin  in  this  un- 
couth assembly.  The  king  had  a  chosen  confidant, 
the  knower  of  secrets.  This  one  is  now  called  prime 
minister. 

If  we  would  know  the  fountain  whence  flow  the 
outward  actions  of  a  people  we  must  study  their  re- 
ligion. Being  asked  the  origin  of  the  universe  and 
man  the  Anglo-Saxon  theologian  would  explain  as 
follows : 

In  the  beginning  there  were  two  worlds — Niflheim, 
the  frozen,  and  Muspel,  the  burning.  From  the  fall- 
ing snowflakes,  quickened  by  the  Unknown  who  sent 
the  heated  blast,  w^as  born  Ymer,  the  giant. 

When  Ymer  lived 

Was  sand  nor  sea, 

Nor  cooling  wave ; 

No  earth  was  found. 

Nor  heaven  above ; 

One  chaos  all. 

And  nowhere  grass. 


196  Our  English  Ancestors. 

Fallen  asleep,  from  his  arm-pits  spring  the  frost 
giants.  A  cow,  born  also  of  melting  snow,  feeds  him 
with  four  milk  rivers.  While  licking  the  perspiration 
from  the  rocks  there  came  at  evening  out  of  the  stones 
a  man's  hair,  the  second  day  a  man's  head,  and  the 
third  the  whole  man  was  there.  His  name  was  Buri. 
His  grandsons — Odin,  Vili,  and  Ve — killed  the  giant, 
Ymer,  and,  dragging  his  body  to  the  abyss  of  space, 
formed  of  it  the  visible  universe ;  from  his  flesh,  the 
land;  from  his  bones,  the  mountains;  from  his  hair, 
the  forests;  from  his  teeth  and  jaws,  the  stones  and 
pebbles;  from  his  blood,  the  ocean;  from  his  skull, 
the  vaulted  sky,  raised  and  supported  by  a  dwarf 
under  each  corner — Austere,  Wester,  Nordre,  and 
Sudre ;  from  his  brains,  scattered  in  the  air,  the  mel- 
ancholy clouds.  The  flying  sparks  and  red-hot  flakes 
cast  out  of  Muspel  they  placed  in  the  heavens  and 
said,  "Let  there  be  light."  As  the  sons  of  Bor,  pow- 
erful and  fair,  were  walking  along  the  sea-beach  they 
found  two  trees,  stately  and  graceful,  and  from  them 
created  the  first  human  pair — man  and  woman — Ask 
and  Embla. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  had  two  heavens.  Valhal  was 
the  most  glorious.  Thither  the  valiant  soldiers  who 
fall  in  battle  shall  be  transported.  Valhal  is  the  airy 
home  of  Odin,  upheld  by  spears,  roofed  with  shields, 
and  adorned  with  coats  of  mail.  In  this  supernal 
abode  these  savage  ancestors  of  our  English  race  ex- 
pected to  have  daily  combats  in  the  listed  field.  After 
the  day's  slaughter  victor  and  vanquished  shall  meet 
unscathed  around  the  festive  board  to  partake  of  the 
ample  banquet  and  quaff  full  horns  of  ibeer.  The 
dying  hero,  with  eyes  fixed  upon  Valhal's  wide-flung 
door,  says: 


Our  English  Ancestors.  197 

Cease,  my  strain  ;  I  hear  a  voice 

From  realms  where  martial  souls  rejoice; 

I  hear  the  maids  of  slaughter  call, 

Who  bid  me  hence  to  Odin's  hall. 

High  seated  in  their  blest  abodes, 

I  soon  shall  quafT  the  drink  of  gods. 

The  hours  of  life  have  glided  by — 

I  fall !  but  laughing  will  I  die. 

The  hours  of  life  have  glided  by — 

I  fall !  but  laughing  will  I  die. 

He  who  fell  not  in  battle  entered  a  more  peaceful 
but  less  glorious  elysiiim.  The  vicious  are  punished 
in  the  cave  of  the  giantess,  Hell.  This  cave,  built  of 
serpents  wattled  together,  with  heads  turned  inward, 
is  situated  far  from  the  sun,  ever  downward  and 
northward.  But  all  the  horrors  you  can  not  know 
that  Hell's  condemned  endure. 

The  Saxons,  thotigh  true,  valorous  and  liberty-lov- 
ing, were  bloody-minded.  They  sacrificed  sometimes 
those  taken  in  battle.  Their  disputes  generally  ended 
in  blood.  They  were  great  eaters.  Six  meals  a  day 
were  barely  sufficient  for  them.  Before  King  Ethel- 
bert's  time  murder  was  expiated  in  three  ways — by 
blows,  from  five  to  ten  thousand,  by  a  fine  of  gold,  or 
by  a  gift  of  a  female  to  the  offended  party.  In  the 
sixth  century  King  Ethelbert  established  the  first  code 
of  written  laws  that  exists  in  any  modern  tongue. 
The  following  are  some  of  his  laws : 

If  in  the  king's  town  any  one  a  man  slay,  fifty  shil- 
lings must  be  paid. 

If  any  one  in  an  earl's  town  a  man  kill,  twelve 
shillings  shall  be  paid. 

If  an  ear  be  cut  off",  twelve  shillings  shall  be  paid. 

If  an  eye  be  gouged  out,  fifty  shillings  shall  be  paid. 

If  a  rib  be  broken,  three  shillings  shall  be  paid. 


ig8  Our  English  Ancestors. 

Woman  was  respected  among  the  Anglo-Saxons. 
She  was  allowed  to  associate  with  the  men  at  their 
feasts.  The  law  accorded  to  her  protection.  She  in- 
herited property  and  bequeathed  it.  The  men  were 
contented  with  one  wife.  Woman's  devotion  was 
strong.     The  maid  died  on  the  grave  of  her  lover. 

The  Normans  were  superior  to  the  Saxons  in  refine- 
ment of  manners,  in  taste,  and  intellectual  culture. 
The  men  were  studious  and  desirous  to  gain  the  ap- 
plause of  the  ladies.  Woman's  vastly  becoming  smile 
and  perfumed  breath  impressed  them.  Nature  was 
pretty  rather  than  grand  to  the  Norman.  He  was 
polite,  elegant,  graceful,  talkative,  dainty,  superficial. 

I  have  given  but  a  few  facts  respecting  our  English 
ancestors.  In  many  things  the  English  people  are 
the  greatest  under  the  sun.  They  have  acquired  ter- 
ritory in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  world  from 
one  end  to  the  other  has  felt  the  tread  of  their  mili- 
tary forces.  In  commerce  there  are  none  greater.  In 
politics  their  statesmen  rank  first.  "In  literature," 
says  Shaw,  "  their  novelists  paint  the  finest  portraits 
of  human  character,  their  historians  know  the  secret 
of  entrancing  and  philosophic  narrative,  their  critics 
have  the  keenest  acumen,  their  philosophers  probe 
far  into  the  philosophy  of  mind,  their  poets  sing  the 
sweetest  songs." 

While  crossing  the  sea  to  their  island  home  they 
were  an  unimportant  tribe ;  now  they  fill  many  lands. 
Receiving  additions  from  the  Celts,  the  Romans,  the 
Danes,  and  the  Normans,  they  formed  a  composite 
nation,  but  they  did  not  lose  their  liberty-loving  spirit. 
As  a  nation  they  have  always  upheld  with  increasing 
strength  the  principle  that  power  is  derived  from  the 
governed  for  the  general  good.     In  literature  and  life 


Our  English  Ancestors.  199 

they  have  furnished  the  moral  pioneers  and  teachers 
of  the  world. 

P'rom  the  elements  which  enter  into  the  composition 
of  the  English  people  we  may  expect  the  bold  imagina- 
tion of  the  Celts,  the  tacit  rage  and  adventurous  mar- 
itime spirit  of  the  Danes,  the  drawing-room  polish  of 
the  Norman,  and  the  energetic  sense  of  truth,  the  as- 
sertion of  the  right  of  individual  liberty,  the  resolute 
habit  of  looking  to  the  end,  the  deep  power  of  love 
and  grand  power  of  will  which  are  peculiar  to  the 
Saxon. 


,x 


"^ 


'ns 


1^1  GpEEN,  LLE 


TMK  OLD  OUARD. 


By  N.  green,  LL.D., 
Chancellor  and  Professor  of  Law. 


"And  There  Were  Giants  in  Those  Days." 

It  has  been  thought  well  to  preserve  in  this  place, 
by  brief  mention,  some  facts  and  dates  in  reference  to 
some  of  the  men  who  began  and  carried  on  for  a 
time  the  institution  from  which  this  work  emanates. 
It  is  impossible,  of  course,  to  name  all  to  whom  credit 
is  due.  Want  of  space  confines  the  compiler  to  a  few 
names,  and  he  has  chosen  to  select  the  more  promi- 
nent of  those  who  were  actually  connected  with  the 
University  as  teachers,  and  those  only  who  have  passed 
away. 

It  is  proper  to  say  that  many  of  the  facts  and  much 
of  the  identical  language  used  in  the  following  sketches 
are  taken  from  "  Cumberland  Presbyterian  History," 
by  J.  Berrien  Lindsley,  M.D.,  D.D. 

Those  who  desire  a  more  elaborate  histor>'  of  Cum- 
berland University  and  the  men  connected  with  it  are 
referred  to  the  October  number,  1876,  of  the  Theolog- 
ical Mediimi,  Rev.  M.  B.  DeWitt,  D.D.,  editor. 

ROBERT  LOONEY  CARUTHERS. 

Beyond  all  question  to  Judge  Caruthers  more  than 
to  any  other  man  is  due  the  credit  of  establishing 
and  perpetuating  Cumberland  University.  His  large 
means  and  his  larger  heart  and  his  wise  head  made 

(201) 


202  The  Old  Guard. 

him  a  leader  in  every  enterprise  in  which  he  engaged. 
He  was  eminently  an  unselfish  man.  His  heart  was 
set  upon  the  good  of  the  community,  of  the  town  in 
which  he  lived,  of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged. 
He  was  a  man  among  men.  It  was  he  whose  magnet- 
ism and  persuasive  influence  gathered  around  him  and 
Cumberland  University  such  men  as  F.  R.  Cossitt, 
Nathan  Green,  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Tennessee,  Thomas  C.  Anderson,  Abraham 
Caruthers,  Richard  Beard,  N.  Lawrence  lyindsley, 
Bromfield  L-  Ridley,  B.  \V.  McDonnold,  and  others. 
With  this  accumulation  of  intellectual  and  moral 
power  to  propel  it,  how  could  the  enterprise  fail? 

Judg«  Caruthers  was  born  in  Smith  county,  Ten- 
nessee, July  31,  1800.  After  attending  the  old-fash- 
ioned country  schools  of  the  time  he  studied  for  a 
while  at  Columbia,  and  also  at  Washington  College, 
East  Tennessee.  He  read  law  under  the  direction  of 
Judge  Samuel  Powell,  in  Greenville,  and  practiced  his 
profession  first  in  Carthage,  in  the  count}^  of  Smith, 
and  afterward  in  Lebanon,  Tennessee.  He  was  elected 
clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  this  State 
in  1823. 

In  September,  1S27,  he  was  elected  Attorney-General 
of  his  district,  and  in  1834  was  made  Brigadier-General 
of  Militia.  He  served  in  the  legislature  as  a  member 
from  Wilson  county  in  1835,  was  in  the  United  States 
Congress  in  1841,  and  in  the  Confederate  States  Con- 
gress in  1 86 1.  He  was  elector  for  the  State  at  large 
on  the  ticket  of  his  party  in  1S44.  In  1849  he  was 
made  Grand  Master  of  the  Masons  for  the  State  of 
Tennessee.  He  was  appointed  Supreme  Judge  of 
Tennessee  by  Governor  Campbell  in  1852,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  the  Hon. 


Robert  Looxey  Caruthers.      203 

Nathan  Green;  was  re-elected  b}-  the  legislature  in 
1853,  and  the  following  year,  on  a  change  of  the  con- 
stitution, was  again  re-elected  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
people  of  his  native  State. 

In  the  spring  of  1861,  when  the  peace  congress  was 
held  in  the  city  of  Washington,  over  which  ex-Presi- 
dent Tyler  presided.  Judge  Caruthers  was  appointed 
by  the  authorities  of  Tennessee  one  of  the  delegates 
to  that  important  body.  But  the  country  was  in  no 
condition  to  listen  to  propositions  of  peace.  The  war 
was  inevitable,  and  he  sided  with  his  State  and  his 
people. 

Judge  Caruthers  was  always  the  friend  of  temper- 
ance reform  and  of  all  movements  looking  to  the  ele- 
vation of  the  people  to  a  higher  point  of  moral  and 
intellectual  progress.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  he  should  have  been  elected  by  the  Grand  Di- 
vision of  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  in  1S49,  Grand 
Worthy  Patriarch  of  the  State. 

Judge  Caruthers  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Cumberland  University,  having 
ht^een  elected  upon  its  organization.  He  continued  to 
fill  this  position  until  his  death.  In  1868  he  was  in- 
duced to  abandon  a  lucrative  practice  and  acccept  a 
position  as  Professor  of  Law  in  the  University,  where 
he  did  much  effective  and  vigorous  service,  softened 
and  directed  by  the  wisdom  and  grace  of  a  very  green 
and  happy  old  age. 

He  was  a  ruling  elder  and  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Lebanon  congregation  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church.  He  was  often  a  delegate  to  the  church 
courts,  and  seemed  as  much  at  home  among  the  eccle- 
siastics in  the  General  Assembly  as  he  was  among  the 
judges  upon  the  Supreme  Bench.     His  influence  for 


204  The  Old  C?uard. 

good  in  State,  in  church,  and  in  society  was  wide- 
spread, deep,  and  permanent.  He  was,  no  doubt, 
raised  up  in  the  providence  of  God  for  a  great  and 
noble  work,  which  he  grandly  performed.  He  died  at 
the  advanced  age  of  fourscore  and  two,  in  the  month 
of  October,  1882. 

This  brief  and  imperfect  sketch  may  afford  food  for 
thought,  and,  to  the  future  biographer,  be  of  value  for 
reference.  Of  its  subject  there  is  no  hesitation  in 
writing  that  his  is  eminently  clarum  et  venerabile  tiotnen. 

FRANCEWAY  RANNA  COSSITT,  D.D. 

Dr.  Cossitt  was  the  first  president  of  Cumberland 
University.  He  entered  upon  his  work  in  February, 
1843.  At  that  time  there  were  but  few  students,  and 
consequently  there  was  but  little  for  him  to  do.  He 
assumed  the  office,  however,  and  presided  in  the  fac- 
ulty when  necessary,  but  held  the  position  only  one 
year,  when  he  resigned  to  enter  into  another  field  of 
labor.  While,  therefore,  his  connection  with  Cumber- 
land University  was  brief,  and  for  the  most  part  nom- 
inal, still  he  should  be  mentioned  here  as  one  of  those 
great  men  who  gave  to  the  institution  the  weight  of 
his  influence,  as  well  as  his  active  support. 

Dr.  Cossitt's  work  as  an  educator  was  performed 
while  he  was  president  of  Cumberland  College,  at 
Princeton,  Ky.  Indeed,  he  was  a  pioneer  in  the  mat- 
ter of  education  among  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 
He  was  born  at  Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  April  24, 
1790.  He  came  South  in  his  youth,  and,  falling  among 
Cumberland  Presbyterians,  became  enamored  of  their 
doctrines,  and  was  soon  established  as  a  regular  mem- 
ber and  minister  in  that  church. 

It  js  well  known  that  the  people  of  the  South  and 


Franceway  Ranna  Cossitt.  205 

West  in  that  day  had  but  little  education.  They  were 
brave,  hardy,  honest,  and  uncultured.  The  few  min- 
isters of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  were 
somewhat  above  the  masses  in  these  respects,  but, 
after  all,  were  very  much  like  them.  Dr.  Cossitt,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  refined,  cultivated,  and  scholarly. 
He  was  not  arrogant,  however,  but  modest  and  meek, 
associating  heartily  and  freely  with  his  newly-made 
brethren.  He  made  himself  one  of  them,  and  they 
in  turn  admired,  respected,  and  honored  him,  and  at 
once  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  educational  inter- 
ests of  the  church.  In  this  position  he  labored  many 
years  earnestly  and  patiently.  He  might,  indeed,  be 
denominated  a  missionary  as  well  as  a  pioneer.  He 
was  no  doubt  the  only  genuine  scholar  among  his 
brethren  at  the  time  referred  to,  and  was  therefore  the 
father  of  letters  and  literature  in  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church. 

After  he  had  resigned  the  office  of  president  of 
Cumberland  University  he  established  the  Bamier  of 
Peace  at  the  town  of  lycbanon,  which  he  conducted 
vigorously  and  successfully  for  many  subsequent 
years.  Dr.  Cossitt  belonged  to  that  old  school  of 
courtly  gentlemen  who  are  fast  passing  away.  He 
had  great  dignity,  and  at  the  same  time  great  gentle- 
ness. He  was  a  fine  disciplinarian  and  a  chaste  and 
vigorous  writer.  New  England,  among  its  hosts  of 
emigrants  to  the  West,  has  sent  out  no  worthier  son 
than  the  indefatigable,  high-spirited,  indomitable, 
scholarly,  and  3'et  unobstrusive  Cossitt. 

No  one  can  go  through  the  long  records  of  his  edi- 
torial and  educational  labors  without  forming  the  high- 
est opinion  of  his  intellectual  and  moral  worth,  nor 
without  astonishment  at  his  patience  and   heroism. 


2o6  The  Old  Guard. 

Cumberland  University  ma}'  well  take  an  honest  pride 
in  the  character  of  its  first  president.  He  died  at 
Lebanon,  February  3,  1863. 

THOMAS  C.  ANDERSON,  D.D. 

Dr.  Anderson  was  the  second  president  of  Cumber- 
land University.  He  was  born  October  i,  1801,  in 
Sumner  county,  Tennessee.  His  father  was  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Anderson,  who  was  the  first  candidate  for 
the  ministry  licensed  by  old  Cumberland  Presbytery 
under  protest  against  the  doctrine  of  eternal  election 
and  reprobation  as  taught  in  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  and  who,  after  a  brief  but  brilliant  ca- 
reer in  the  ministry,  died  when  his  son  Thomas  was 
only  three  years  old.  The  boy's  training,  therefore, 
devolved  entirely  upon  his  mother,  who  was  a  devoted 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  his  twenty- 
fourth  year  he  became  a  member  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church. 

The  principal  part  of  his  education  was  received 
under  Dr.  King,  a  successful  educator  at  Gallatin.  In 
his  youth  ill-health  prevented  his  constant  attendance 
at  school,  and  it  was  not  until  he  was  a  mature  man 
that  he  entered  college.  In  1829  he  entered  Cum- 
berland College  at  Princeton,  Kentucky,  as  tutor,  but 
he  applied  himself  closely  to  his  own  studies  during 
the  year  and  graduated  at  its  close.  He  was  then 
elected  Professor  of  Languages,  and  returned  in  the 
fall  of  1830  to  assume  his  new  position.  In  1831  he 
was  licensed  to  preach,  and  he  left  the  professor's 
chair  for  the  varied  experiences  and  responsibilities 
of  a  "circuit  rider."  The  General  Assembly  in  the 
following  May  appointed  him  assistant  editor  of  The 
Cumberland  Presbyterian,  edited  and  published  by  the 


'•'■^* 


Thomas  C.  Axdersox.  207 

Rev.  James  Smith  at  Xashville.  In  1S33  he  was  or- 
dained by  the  Xashville  Presbyter}'. 

He  spent  four  years  as  editor,  and  then  withdrew  to 
take  charge  of  the  Male  Academy  at  Lebanon.  He 
was  soon  after  called  to  the  care  of  the  church  at  Win- 
chester, Tennessee,  and  in  the  fall  of  1838  entered 
upon  his  first  pastorate.  In  connection  with  his  duties 
as  pastor  he  was  principal  of  the  Female  Academy. 
The  double  tax  upon  his  energies  was  too  much  for 
his  strength. 

About  the  3-ear  1841  he  assisted  Rev.  Herschel  S. 
Porter  in  a  camp-meeting  at  Old  Goshen,  near  Win- 
chester. The  two  preached  alternately.  The  result 
was  a  very  great  religious  awakening.  Dr.  Anderson 
was  remarkably  successful  in  explaining  the  way  of 
life  to  the  penitent.  One  day  Dr.  Porter  preached  an 
eloquent  sermon  on  the  jailer's  conversion  as  narrated 
in  Acts  xvi.  It  so  happened  that  the  jailer  of  the 
county,  who  was  a  very  wicked  man,  and  who  was  a 
neighbor  of  Dr.  Anderson,  was  present  and  was  much 
wrought  upon,  and  rushed  to  the  altar  when  the  peni- 
tents were  called  and  fell  at  Dr.  Anderson's  feet.  His 
own  overworked  condition  and  the  remarkable  coin- 
cidence were  too  much  for  the  Doctor.  He  raised 
his  hands,  exclaiming,  "And  here  is  the  jailer!"  and 
immediately  fainted  away.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  a  chronic  heart  failure,  and  prevented  him  ever 
afterward  from  preaching. 

He  accepted,  however,  in  1842,  the  chair  of  Lan- 
guages in  Cumberland  University.  In  October,  1844, 
Dr.  Cossitt  having  resigned  the  presidency  of  the 
University,  Professor  Anderson  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancyt*  and  entered  at  once  upon  his  new  duties. 
Under  his  able  and  judicious  administration  the  insti- 


2o8  The  Old  Guard. 

tution  had  a  most  prosperous  and  fruitful  career  unti 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War. 

Just  preceding  that  contest  the  University  was  the 
pride  and  crpwn  of  its  friends  everywhere.  Its  last 
catalogue  previous  to  the  time  of  its  suspension  ex- 
hibited more  than  four  hundred  and  eighty  students. 
Its  alumni  by  hundreds  adorned  all  ranks,  positions, 
and  professions  of  society.  President  Anderson  held 
his  high  position  until  1866,  when  he  resigned,  and 
B.  W.  McDonnold,  D.D.,  succeeded  him.  In  his  ad- 
ministration Dr.  Anderson's  course  was  distinguished 
by  a  magnanimous,  liberal,  and  Christian  view  of  his 
great  responsibilities  and  duties.  He  was  noted  for 
his  wisdom  in  dealing  with  all  the  interests  of  the 
University,  common  sense  being  one  of  his  peculiar 
characteristics  in  all  matters  of  counsel,  whether  pub- 
lic or  private.  The  nobility  of  his  nature  kept  him 
far  above  the  narrowness  of  bigotry  or  the  petty  preju- 
dices of  party. 

His  domestic  life  was  as  beautiful  in  its  simplicity 
and  easy  dignity,  as  real  and  firm  in  its  purity  of  char- 
acter, and  as  godly  and  consistent  in  its  Christianity 
as  his  public  career  was  honorable  in  its  conduct  and 
commanding  in  its  influence. 

He  was  a  man  of  great  courage.  He  never  quailed 
before  mortal,  and  yet  he  was  remarkably  easy  of  ap- 
proach. He  had  no  concealments.  His  great  heart 
was  always  open  and  full  of  sympathy  for  those  in 
need.  He  died  February  3,  1882,  in  the  eighty-second 
year  of  his  age. 

Tennessee  never  gave  birth  to  a  nobler  son,  Cum- 
berland University  never  had  a  more  faithful  servant, 
nor  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  and.the cause 
of  Christ  a  truer  friend  than  Thomas  C.  Anderson. 


'^d.  ^r>^>  czw^  -'^^'^ 


Bexjamix  W.  McDoxnold.  209 

BENJAMIN  \V.  McDONNOLD,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Dr.  McDonnold,  the  third  president  of  Cumberland 
University,  was  born  March  24,  1827,  in  Overton 
county,  Tennessee.  When  six  3-ears  old,  under  the 
guidance  of  a  pious  mother,  he  had  memorized  the  cat- 
echism. He  was  received  into  the  church  in  his  tenth 
)-ear,  and  at  twelve  began  preparation  for  the  minis- 
try, and  became  a  candidate  for  that  holy  office  in  his 
sixteenth  year.  Like  Felix  Grundy,  he  learned  books 
at  night  by  the  light  of  the  fire,  and  while  at  the  plow- 
handle  studied  the  classic  grammars. 

His  father  moved  to  West  Tennessee,  and  there  his 
industrious  son  learned  more  Latin  and  Greek  under 
David  Cochrane,  a  classic  teacher  of  repute.  When 
seventeen  years  of  age  he  actually  memorized  the 
New  Testament  and  could  repeat  it.  In  1847  he  went 
to  Princeton,  Kentucky,  to  college,  and  graduated  in 
1849.  He  was  then  elected  Professor  of  Mathematics 
in  Bethel  Seminary  and  taught  one  year.  He  next 
went  to  Philadelphia  as  successor  of  the  eloquent  Dr. 
H.  S.  Porter,  but,  his  health  failing,  he  returned  South 
an  invalid.  In  1852  he  resumed  the  teaching  of  Math- 
ematics in  Bethel  College.  In  i860  he  accepted  the 
chair  of  Pastoral  Theology  in  Cumberland  University, 
and  removed  to  Lebanon,  Tennessee.  • 

During  the  early  part  of  the  Civil  War  he  became  for 
a  short  time  pastor  of  the  church  at  Lebanon,  after 
which  he  was  a  chaplain  in  the  Confederate  army,  and 
so  remained  until  the  war  closed.  He  was  now  a  third 
time  connected  with  Bethel  College,  but  this  time  as 
president  one  year,  when  he  resigned  and  became  the 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Lebanon.  In  1S66  he  was 
elected  president  of  Cumberland  University. 
14 


2IO  The  Old  Guard. 

Dr.  McDonnold  entered  upon  this  very  important 
work  under  the  most  trying  circumstances.  A  deso- 
lating war  had  swept  over  the  country.  The  survivors 
of  that  unhappy  strife,  upon  their  return,  found  their 
fencing  gone,  shade  trees  cut  down,  houses  burnt,  and' 
the  people  impoverished.  As  to  the  University,  it  had 
but  little  left.  The  endowment,  which  consisted  for 
the  most  part  in  notes  and  other  securities,  was  almost 
entirely  lost.  Splendid  buildings,  the  pride  of  the 
country,  had  been  completed  just  before  the  strife 
began.  These  were  all  swept  away  by  the  flames. 
Dr.  Richard  Beard  and  President  Anderson,  under  the 
direction  of  the  trustees,  had  collected  a  few  students 
and  taught  them  in  hired  buildings,  but  the  prospect 
was  unpromising  indeed. 

Dr.  McDonnold  was  a  frail  man  physically  all  his  life, 
but  he  possessed  what  was  of  more  value  to  the  pub- 
lic than  health  itself — a  will  to  work.  He  at  once 
brought  to  bear  all  his  energy  and  all  his  learning 
upon  the  task  before  him.  By  his  correspondence, 
which  was  immense,  he  revived  an  interest  in  the  in- 
stitution all  over  the  church.  He  conceived  and  car- 
ried forward  the  plan  of  a  "cash  endowment,"  as  he 
was  pleased  to  term  it,  which  simplj^  consisted  in  tak- 
ing up  collections  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  cur- 
rent salaries  of  the  professors. 

Of  course,  such  a  scheme  could  not  last  long,  but  it 
tided  the  University  over  what  had  appeared  insuper- 
able difficulties.  Perhaps  no  man  ever  connected 
with  the  University  labored  more  for  its  prosperity. 
He  toiled  night  and  day  for  seven  years. '  During  his 
administration,  due  to  his  own  efforts  and  the  heart}'- 
support  of  the  noble  men  who  stood  around  him,  there 
was  quite  a  revival.     Friends  were  awakened  far  and 


Benjamin  W.  McDonnold.  211 

near.  Buildings  were  provided  and  all  the  depart- 
ments of  the  University  put  in  working  order,  so  that 
in  the  collegiate  year  of  1870-71  there  were  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  students  in  attendance.  No  one 
claims  for  Dr.  McDonnold  alone  the  credit  of  all  this. 
He  used  to  say  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  the 
best  board  in  the  world. 

Dr.  McDonnold  was  distinguished  not  only  as  a 
scholar  and  educator,  but  as  a  preacher  and  a  writer. 
As  a  preacher  he  was  remarkable  for  his  clearness, 
not  only  in  stating  and  establishing  his  propositions, 
but  in  the  distinctness  of  his  enunciation.  He  pro- 
nounced every  word  so  that  no  one  in  the  largest  audi- 
ence could  fail  to  hear  him.  He  seemed  to  comprehend 
that  when  a  preacher  preached  he  should  take  pains  to 
be  heard,  if  indeed  he  should  say  any  thing  worth 
hearing.  After  listening  to  one  of  Dr.  McDonnold's 
sermons  or  addresses  any  intelligent  hearer  could  al- 
most repeat  it,  so  clear  was  the  impression. 

As  a  writer  he  was  remarkable.  His  History  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  recently  published, 
and  numerous  newspaper  and  magazine  articles,  bear 
testimony  to  his  ability  as  a  writer.  A  distinguished 
editor  who  published  many  of  his  articles  said  of  him 
that  there  was  an  icnction  about  his  style  which  was 
found  in  that  of  few  other  men. 

Dr.  McDonnold's  ill-health  compelled  him  to  resign 
the  presidency  of  the  University  in  1873.  Afterward 
he  became  an  evangelist,  earnest,  devoted,  and  suc- 
cessful, laboring  with  gracious  results  not  only  in  his 
native  State,  but  in  Texas,  California,  Pennsj^lvania, 
and  elsewhere.  Hundreds  still  living  are  ready  to 
rise  up  and  call  him  blessed.  He  died  at  his  home  on 
the  27th  day  of  February,  1889. 


212  The  Old  Guard. 

NATHANIEL  LAWRENCE  LINDSLEY,  LL.D. 

Dr.  Ivindsley  was  elected  Professor  of  Greek  and 
Latin  in  Cumberland  University  in  1844.  He  was 
born  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  September  11,  1816. 
In  1824  his  father,  Philip  Lindsley,  D.D.,  who  had  re- 
cently declined  the  presidency  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  removed  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  to  accept 
that  of  Cumberland  College,  afterward  the  University 
of  Nashville.  President  Jackson,  his  warm  personal 
friend,  nominated  his  son,  Nathaniel  Lawrence,  to  a 
cadetship  at  West  Point  in  1833.  Two  years  of  rig- 
orous climate  and  the  exposures  then  incident  to  cadet 
life  impaired  a  robust  constitution,  inured  to  all  manly 
sports,  so  that  in  1835  3'oung  Lindsley  resigned  his 
appointment  and  entered  the  senior  class  at  Nashville, 
and  was  graduated  in  1S36.  He  then  served  two  years 
as  tutor. 

His  college  life  was  at  the  most  brilliant  period  of 
his  father's  splendid  career,  and  he  became  fully  im- 
bued with  classic  culture  and  a  burning  zeal  in  the 
work  of  education. 

In  1841  he  was  married  to  Julia,  daughter  of  Moses 
B.  Stevens,  eminent  as  a  classical  instructor  and  lead- 
ing Mason.  He  was  then  a  citizen  of  Wilson  county, 
having  opened  a  farm  upon  a  tract  of  land  donated  to 
his  grandfather,  Nathaniel  Lawrence,  of  New  York, 
by  the  State  of  North  Carolina  for  military  service  in 
the  line  of  that  State  during  the  War  of  Independ- 
ence. 

His  chief  work  in  Cumberland  University  was  as 
Professor  of  Greek  and  Latin  from  1844  to  1849.  To 
the  duties  of  this  station  he  brought  all  his  energies, 
and  against   the   protests  of  his  friends  worked  too 


Nathaniel  Lawrence  Lindsley.  213 

hard,  but  made  his  impress  indelibly  upon  the  institu- 
tion for  good. 

After  resting  a  while  he  commenced,  upon  his  beau- 
tiful farm,  a  school  for  j'oung  ladies,  limited  in  number 
of  pupils  and  characterized  by  his  own  peculiar  and 
sound  educational  ideas.  This  became  widely  known 
as  Greenwood  Seminary,  and  under  his  accomplished 
widow,  so  long  his  skillful  colleague,  continued  to  do 
excellent  work  until  her  death.  After  the  war,  with 
characteristic  energy,  he  refitted  and  greatl}-  enlarged 
Greenwood  Seminary,  and  was  apparently  about  to 
reap  the  rich  harvest  merited  by  long  years  of  patient 
preparation,  \vhen  a  short  illness  removed  him  to  a 
higher  school,  October  10,  1S68. 

He  was  in  a  marked  degree  without  guile,  fearless, 
bold,  and  determined.  For  j'ears  he  had  been  a  de- 
vout, consistent  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church.  He  was  very  warml}"  attached  to  the 
eminent  clerical  and  laj'  members  of  that  church  with 
whom  he  was  so  intimately  associated  at  Lebanon, 
and  they  without  exception  regarded  him  as  a  coun- 
selor and  a  friend. 

As  an  educator  he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree 
the  two  great  qualities  so  wonderfully  adorning  his 
distinguished  father's  life,  to  wit :  thorough,  exact, 
profound  classic  culture,  and  the  faculty  of  inspiring 
an  enthusiastic  devotion  toward  himself  in  all  his 
scholars.  All  the  ten  years  previous  to  i86r  these 
qualities  gave  him  influence  and  reputation  with  the 
hosts  of  3'outh  assembled  at  Lebanon. 

He  was  the  friend  and  valued  correspondent  of 
Worcester,  the  lexicographer,  -iand  Everett,  the  most 
polished  of  American  orators.  In  conversation  he 
was   gifted   and  interesting.     With    the  pen    he  was 


214  The  Old  Guard. 

ready  and  convincing.  His  articles  in  the  Banner  of 
Peace  and  elsewhere  always  commanded  notice.  He 
ought  to  have  written  more;  but  his  reason  for  not 
doing  so  was  that  for  years  before  his  decease  he  had 
expended  much  time  and  labor  in  collecting  materials 
for  a  new  and  complete  dictionary  of  the  English  lan- 
guage under  the  name,  "Encyclo-IvCxicon."  The 
plan,  though  original,  was  very  similar  to  that  since 
carried  out  by  Littre  in  his  celebrated  French  diction- 
ary. 

This  brief  outline  of  Dr.  Lindsley's  career  will  show 
that  he  was  eminently  worthy  of  the  mention  made  of 
him  in  that  standard  work,  "The  Resources  of  Ten- 
nessee," as  a  man  "long  recognized  throughout  the 
country  as  Tennessee's  great  educator  and  scholar." 

ABRAHAM  CARUTHERS. 

Judge  Abraham  Caruthers  was  the  first  law  pro- 
fessor in  Cumberland  University.  The  Hon.  N. 
Green,  of  the  Supreme  Bench  of  Tennessee,  was 
elected  Professor  of  International  Eaw  and  Political 
Economy  in  1845,  but  declined  the  position. 

Judge  Caruthers.  who  was  subsequently  requested 
to  establish  a  law  school,  entered  upon  that  work  in 
the  month  of  October,  1847.  He  was  born  in  Smith 
county,  Tennessee,  January  14,  1803.  While  he  was 
yet  a  child  his  father  died.  By  the  help  of  friends  and 
his  own  strong  will  he  acquired  a  respectable  educa- 
tion, studied  law,  and  commenced  the  practice  in  1824 
in  the  town  of  Columbia,  Tennessee.  Remaining 
there  but  a  short  time,  he  removed  to  Carthage,  and 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Carroll,  in  1833,  judge  of 
the  Circuit  Court,  to  fill  a  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Judge  Williams.     He  was  barely  eligible  on 


wm  mmgm. 


^ 


/ 


Abraham    Caruthers.  215 

account  of  age,  and  was  at  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment the  youngest  judge  in  Tennessee.  He  rose  rap- 
idly to  distinction,  and  soon  won  the  admiration  and 
confidence  of  the  entire  bar  throughout  his  large  cir- 
cuit, and  was  chosen  as  judge  for  another  term  by  the 
legislature  without  leaving  his  home  to  attend  the 
election  at  Nashville. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  second  term  so  great  was 
hisv.  fame  that  he  was  re-elected  without  opposition. 
Few  of  his  decisions  were  overruled,  and  many  of 
them  are  incorporated  into  the  opinions  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  As  a  judge  he  was  a^terror  to  evil- 
doers and  a  strong  bulwark  to  the  innocent.  He  re- 
signed in  1847  to  enter  upon  his  new  work. 

The  attempt  to  establish  a  law  school  w^as  an  experi- 
ment in  this  part  of  the  country.  After  but  little  ad- 
vertising a  few  young  men  were  gathered  at  the  feet 
of  this  Gamaliel.  No  room  as  yet  had  been  prepared 
for  the  law  class.  In  the  law  oflSce  of  his  brother, 
Hon.  Robert  h-  Caruthers,  the  new  professor  was  met 
by  seven  students,  the  number  increasing  during  the 
term  to  thirteen.  The  first  lesson  recited  was  in  "  The 
History  of  a  I^aw  Suit,"  a  little  work  of  only  forty 
pages  which  he  had  just  published,  and  which  he 
modestly  denominated  "The  Primer." 

The  old  system  of  lectures,  which  had  been  uni- 
versally adopted  in  the  professional  schools  in  the 
United  States,  was  utterly  discarded.  Judge  Caruth- 
ers held  that  the  science  of  law  should  be  taught  in 
the  same  way  that  mathematics,  or  chemistry,  or  any 
other  science  is  taught ;  so  that,  instead  of  adopting  a 
new  method,  he  simply  returned  to  the  old  paths.  He 
assigned  a  given  portion  of  the  text  every  day,  and 
upon  this  he  rigidly  examined  every  student.    He  also 


2r6  The  Old  Guard. 

adopted  a  system  of;moot  courts,  and  his  students 
were  made  practicing  lawyers  from  the  first.  The}" 
had  their  sheriflf,  their- jurors,  their  fictitious  cHents, 
and  their  professor  as  judge. 

This  plan  soon  became  popular.  The  second  year 
of  its  existence  Judge  Green,  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  the  Hon.  B.  ly.  Ridley,  of  the  Chancery  Court, 
were  made  additional  professors.  The  latter,  however, 
taught  but  little,  and  that  only  for  a  short  time.  The 
success  of  the  school  under  the  administration  of 
these  teachers  was  unparalleled.  In  1861  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  students  attended.  On  the  13th  day 
of  April,  1861,  President  Lincoln's  proclamation  to 
suppress  the  "insurrection"  in  the  Southern  States 
resulted  in  an  immediate  suspension  of  the  exercises 
and  the  scattering  of  the  students  to  their  homes,  and 
thence  to  the  armies  of  the  respective  belligerents. 

Judge  Caruthers  had  been  a  pronounced  friend  of 
the  Union  and  an  opposer  of  secession.  On  several 
occasions,  in  addressing  the  students  before  the  pub- 
lic, he  uttered  the  most  burning  and  eloquent  senti- 
ments in  favor  of  an  undivided  country.  When, 
however,  the  proclamation  of  the  President  came  ask- 
ing Tennesseans  to  volunteer  to  fight  their  brethren 
of  the  seceded  States,  and  it  became  evident  that 
every  man  must  make  his  choice,  he  determined  to  go 
with  his  people,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  advise  resist- 
ance. He  reluctantly  consented  to  represent  the 
county  of  Wilson  in  the  legislature  in  1861,  and 
served  in  the  body  that  pronounced  a  separation  of 
the  State  from  the  Union.  This  to  him  was  no  pleas- 
ing task.  It  was  simply  what  he  considered  a  choice 
of  evils. 

When  the  country  became  occupied  by  the  soldiers 


Richard  Beard.  217 

of  the  Union,  apprehending  an  arrest,  he  left  his  home 
and  went  to  the  town  of  Marietta,  Georgia,  where, 
away  frojn  his  family  and  friends,  he  died  among 
strangers  on  the  5th  day 'of  May,  1862,  in  the  sixtieth 
year  of  his  age.  Thus  departed  one  of  the  purest 
men  and  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  ever  produced  in 
this  country. 

Hon.  John  M.  Bright,  a  disting;uished  contemporary, 
said  of  him:  "He  was  modest  as^Jie  was  meritorious, 
consistent  as  he  was  conscientious,  useful  as  he  was 
laborious,  exalted  in  principle  as  he  was.  liberal  in 
spirit,  profound  as  he  was  accurate,  sound  as  a  lawyer, 
able  as  a  jurist,  popular  as  a  professor,  siiccessful  as 
an  author,  irreproachable  as  a  citizen,  exemplary  as  a 
Christian,  and  the  founder  of  the  law  department  of 
the  Cumberland  Universit}"." 

Such  was  Abraham  Caruthers. 

RICHARD  BEARD,  D.D. 

As  early  as  1849  the  establishment  of  a  Theological 
Department  of  the  University  was  discussed  in  the 
General  Assembly,  but  no  definite  action  was  taken 
till  1852,  when  Dr.  Beard  was  elected  Professor  of  Sys- 
tematic Theology  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  con- 
firmed by  the  succeeding  General  Assembly,  but  did 
not  immediately  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  chair. 

Dr.  Beard  was  born  November  27,  1797.  in  Sumner 
county,  Tennessee.  His  early  education  was  not  with- 
out care,  yet  limited.  He  was  licensed  and  commenced 
preaching  in  1820.  He  had  many  difficulties  to  over- 
come— a  slender  physique,  a  slender  purse,  but  little 
learning,  an  embarrassing  impediment  in  his  speech, 
and  no  rich  kinsfolk  to  help  him. 

It  has  been  said  of  hira  by  those  who  witnessed  his 


2i8  The  Old  Guard. 

first  eiSbrts  that  he  was  the  reverse  of  promising. 
His  manner  was  ungainly  and  his  delivery  difl&cult. 
As  he  often  said  of  others  when  intending  to  compli- 
ment them,  he  had  the  "root  of  the  matter  in  him." 
That  is  to  say,  he  felt  that  he  was  called  of  God,  he 
had  brains,  and  he  had  pluck.  He  taught  school  some 
and  preached  some  and  studied  much.  He  finally  en- 
tered Cumberland  College,  Princeton,  Kentucky,  and 
after  two  years  and  a  half  was  graduated. 

He  was  immediately  appointed  Professor  of  Lan- 
guages in  that  institution.  He  afterward  spent  five 
years  at  Sharon,  Mississippi,  in  connection  with  a  col- 
lege there,  but  was  recalled  to  Cumberland  College  in 
1843,  this  time  as  its  p'resident.  There  he  remained 
ten  and  a  half  years  and  did  an  important  work  for 
the  cause  of  learning. 

In  1854  he  began  work  as  the  first  regular  theolog- 
ical professor  in  Cumberland  University.  He  was 
called  especially  to  the  chair  of  Systematic  Theology, 
but,  not  having  sufiicient  assistance,  it  became  neces- 
sary for  him  to  teach  almost  the  whole  course.  He 
gathered  around  him  and  instructed  a  number  of 
promising  young  men,  some  of  whom  have  now  be- 
come not  only  gray,  but  great.  Dr.  Beard's  heart  was 
greatly  set  upon  this  enterprise.  He  wrote,  labored, 
and  prayed  unceasingly  for  its  success.    * 

Often  he  was  deeply  discouraged  and  almost  in  de- 
spair, fearing  that  the  church  would  never  take  hold 
in  earnest  and  build  up  a  theological  school.  He  cer- 
tainly was  one  of  those  who  "sowed  in  tears."  It 
was  a  great  comfort  to  him,  therefore,  that  he  lived  to 
see  a  faculty  of  competent  instructors  and  lecturers 
associated  with  him  and  a  large  increase  in  the  attend- 
ance of  pupils. 


Richard  Beard.  219 

Dr.  Beard  gave  to  the  church  an  able  and  standard 
work  on  systematic  theology,  which  was  regarded 
as  the  crystallization  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
thought  and  faith.  Besides,  he  published  two  volumes 
of  exceedingly  interesting  biographical  sketches  of 
ministers,  a  small  volume  of  popular  divinity  in  an- 
swer to  the  question,  "  Why  am  I  a  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian?" and  a  large  volume  of  "Miscellaneous 
Sermons,  Reviews,  and  Essays."  His  contributions 
to  the  general  literature  of  the  church  were  constant 
and  valuable.  \ 

Dr.  Beard  deserves  to  be  held  up  as  a  model.  His 
great  dignity,  purity,  and  gentleness  of  character 
marked  him  as  a  representative  man.  He  was  a  gen- 
tleman in  every  sense  of  the  word.  Those  little  acts 
and  deeds,  so  often  overlooked  and  yet  so  necessary  to 
a  perfect  character,  his  courtesy  upon  the  street  and 
in  the  parlor,  his  punctilious  attention  to  strangers, 
his  cordial  hospitality,  were  remarkable  indeed.  He 
was  always  ".considerate  of  the  feelings  of  others,  and 
full  of  sympathy  for  those  in  distress.  Hundreds  of 
lieavy  hearts  have  poured  their  sorrow  into  his  listen- 
ing ears.  As  for  purity,  it  is  safe  to  venture  the  asser- 
tion that  in  a  long  life  of  fourscore  3'ears  no  corrupt 
<?&mmunication  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth. 

Dr.  Beard's  whole  life  was  a  demonstration  of  the 
superiority  of  mind  and  goodness  over  matter  and 
sense.  He  enjoyed  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  with 
the  keenest  zest,  while  he  initiated  hundreds  of  others 
into  the  same  delights.  He  did  not  relax  even  in 
his  old  age.  As  an  evidence  of  this  is  the  fact  that  he 
actually  wrote  and  published  his  elaborate  system  of 
theology  when  over  sixty  years  of  age.  He  thus  ranks 
high  in  the  list  of  "old  men  eloquent."     As  a  theo- 


220  The  Old  Guard, 

logian  he  was  eminently  successful,  and  did  a  great 
work  for  sound  evangelical  doctrine. 

As  heretofore  intimated,  he  labored  till  the  last. 
He  died  the  second  day  of  December,  1880.  He  died 
at  his  post.  He  died  as  might  have  been  expected  of 
one  who  had  lived  such  a  life.  When  the  power  of 
speech  was  gone  he  was  still  conscious,  still  intelli- 
gent. When  asked  by  his  weeping  wife,  "What  shall 
I  now  do?  To  whom  shall  I  now  look?"  unable  to 
speak,  he  raised  his  finger  and  pointed  upward.  That 
hand  has  perished,  but  the  good  deeds,  the  noble  life, 
the  pure  example,  the  spotless  reputation  of  that  great 
and  good  man,  are  pointing  upward  still. 

NATHAN  GREEN. 

Judge  Green  was  born  in  Amelia  county,  Virginia, 
on  the  1 6th  of  May,  1792,  and  died  at  his  home  in 
Lebanon,  Tennessee,  March  30,  1866.  He  studied  law 
and  began  the  practice  in  his  native  State,  but  shortly 
after  removed  and  settled  in  the  beautiful  mountain 
town  of  Winchester,  Tennessee,  where  he  engaged  in 
a  vigorous  and  lucrative  practice. 

At  that  time  there  was  a  low  state  of  morals  in  the 
profession.  Gambling  for  monej-  was  a  common  vice. 
He  was  enticed  by  professed  friends  to  engage  in  a 
game  of  cards  for  amusement,  then  to  risk  a  small 
sum,  and  finally  a  great  one,  so  that  in  a  few  years 
he  lost  quite  a  fortune.  His  severe  reverses,  added  to 
the  faithful,  loving  patience  and  prayers  of  his  wife, 
brought  about  a  sincere  repentance.  He  abandoned 
forever  the  habit  of  gambling,  became  a  devoted 
Christian,  and  then  an  elder  in  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
bvterian  church. 


Nathan  Green.  221 

From  this  time  forward  his  influence  at  the  bar  and 
upon  the  bench  was  distinctly  and  powerfully  upon 
the  side  of  virtue.  Tall  and  imposing  in  person,  with 
a  deep-toned  and  impressive  voice  and  a  most  earnest 
and  dignified  manner,  from  the  first  he  commanded 
that  respect  and  attracted  that  attention  w^hich  usually 
follow  the  later  developments  of  ability. 

As  early  as  1826  he  w'as  made  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate.  There  he  had  no  superior.  He  was 
soon  elected  one  of  the  Chancellors  of  the  State,  when 
there  were  but  two  who  occupied  that  honorable  posi- 
tion. In  1 83 1  he  was  made  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  for  more  than  twenty  years,  by  election  and 
re-election,  until  his  voluntary  retirement,  he  re- 
mained upon  the  bench  without  stain  or  reproach. 
There  he  was  associated  with  such  men  as  Catron, 
Reese,  Turley,  and  McKinney.  During  that  score  of 
years  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he  did  his  full 
share  in  building  up  the  judicial  system  of  Tennessee. 
Some  of  his  admirers  have  called  him  the  Hardwick 
of  Tennessee.  Others  have  said  of  him  that  he  was 
the  father  of  equity  in  his  own  State.  Certain  it  is 
that  no  man  has  made  a  greater  impression  upon  our 
laws  or  left  a  more  lasting  record.  He  was  a  great 
judge,  indeed,  taking  rank  with  Gaston,  Shaw,  and 
Kent. 

In  1852  he  retired  from  the  bench  to  enter  fully 
upon  his  work  as  Professor  of  Law  in  Cumberland  Uni- 
versity. He  had  become  well  known  to  the  profes- 
sion in  Tennessee  and  to  the  country  in  general,  and 
was  in  the  fullness  of  his  intellectual  manhood.  As- 
sociated in  this  w^ork  with  Judge  Abraham  Caruthers, 
the  two  could  not  have  failed  to  attract  the  youth  of 
the  country.     They  flocked  around   them  until    the 


222  The  Old  Guard. 

breaking  out  of  the  war  in  iS6i  as  the  youth  of  Athens 
used  to  gather  around  their  great  philosophers.  Dur- 
ing the  time  of  hostilities  Judge  Green  remained 
quietly  at  home.  He  had  all  his  life  deplored  seces- 
sion and  disunion.  He  loved  the  Union,  and  in  his 
youth  had  given  proof  of  his  devotion  by  enlisting 
and  serving  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812-15. 

In  all  his  speeches  and  lectures  before  the  students 
he  had  argued  and  spoken  for  the  integrity  of  the 
Union  of  our  fathers.  He  denied,  however,  with  great 
vehemence  the  right  of  the  people  of  the  North  to  in- 
terfere with  the  domestic  matters  of  the  people  of  the 
South.  When,  therefore,  the  issue  came  he  took  dis- 
tinct and  unequivocal  ground  in  favor  of  resistance. 
Though  his  opinions  were  well  known  and  freely  ex- 
pressed he  was  not  molested  either  in  person  or  prop- 
erty by  the  United  States  troops. 

Judge  Green  paid  much  attention  to  the  study  of 
the  Bible,  and  was  pronounced  by  those  who  knew  no 
mean  theologian.  He  was  often  a  delegate  to  the 
various  church  councils.  It  was  his  habit,  whenever 
called  upon  by  his  pastor,  to  conduct  the  religious  ex- 
ercises at  the  ordinary  prayer-meeting  or  the  more 
public  service,  or  even  at  the  great  camp-meetings 
which  were  common  in  his  day.  On  these  occasions 
he  spoke  with  great  fluency  and  earnestness.  His 
heavy  voice,  somewhat  elevated,  with  his  exceedingly 
rapid  enunciation,  reminded  one  of  a  mighty  torrent. 
He  had  no  anecdote,  no  fancy,  but  his  reasoning  was 
irresistibly  eloquent. 

Whatever  he  did  he  did  with  all  his  might.  In  the 
spring  of  1866  Judge  Green  undertook  to  work  in  the 
law  school,  which  had  just  been  revived.  Although 
feeble,  he  thought  he  could  do  something.     It  was  a 


Nathan  Green.  223 

saying  with  him  that  he  could  not  bear  the  idea  of 
"rusting  out."  That  is,  he  desired  to  be  bright  and 
actively  at  work  till  the  last.  But  alas !  the  labor  that 
he  had  attempted  was  too  much  for  his  strength.  He 
taught  a  few  weeks  only.  He  went  to  his  bed,  and 
after  a  confinement  of  seven  days  passed  away  in  the 
seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age.  His  last  words  were, 
"  I  trust  in  Jesus;  all  is  well." 


